


Through the Cracks in the Sky

by emalynnstone



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Brother-Sister Relationships, Codependent Twins, Eventual Romance, F/M, Figuring this story out as it goes, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reincarnation, Self-Insert, Slow Burn, Uchiha Massacre
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-10-15 20:32:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10557286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emalynnstone/pseuds/emalynnstone
Summary: She began to find it hard to breathe and she gasped out, “Wh-who are you?” The boy’s eyes also widened, then shuttered with sadness and pain – and she briefly thought that no little boy, whoever they were, should look that way – and said, “Imouto?  Did you forget me?  I- it’s me.  Sasuke.”***A self-insert after the Uchiha massacre, of a twin sister to Sasuke who survives the massacre. Obviously, this idea isn't completely unique (*sigh*), but please give the story a chance!***





	1. Out of the Red, Into the Black, and, Finally, Into Reality

**Author's Note:**

> My first Naruto fanfic! I've written this a while before and I honestly didn't think to pursue it... mostly cause I'm kind of iffy on my opinion of Sasuke as a character. I adore him as a child and truly feel terrible that he had so much crap happen to him... but he's definitely not my favorite character (that is reserved for Naruto and Kakashi, of course!). But I do find the Uchihas intriguing... and maybe, with my version of Sasuke, I can find a way to appreciate Sasuke. 
> 
> Also, Sasuke as an older brother is just adorable :3
> 
> Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own Naruto, the Naruto-verse, or any other Naruto characters. I do own my OC, though she is heavily influenced by the Naruto-verse characters that I do NOT own. I only, really, own some books. And those books aren't even the Naruto manga books so... I own nothing Naruto-related!

The absence of screams is what awoke her. The steady beeping of the machines is what stirred her out of her consciousness. Her eyes opened to blinding white and a moan from someone – her? – was heard. The beeping began to increase and suddenly there were other voices – loud, alarming ones – and hands, so many hands. Then there was numbing darkness and she fell back down.

The next time she woke from out of the black and to the white, there was a voice sobbing, begging her to not leave too, to stay and not go. She tried to open her mouth and felt the odd sensation that her body was not her body, but she tried to tell the voice that she wouldn’t go. Then the black grabbed her before the red could leak into the white. 

When finally consciousness enabled her to greet the white, she found herself in a hospital, which explained the beeping and blankness. She tried to sit up, but pain wracked her body and so her eyes tried to take in what her body could not. She glanced to the door and noticed it did not open like the doors she knew from Before, but they slid open sideways. Briefly, she wondered why those doors looked so strange to her and the hospital room did not. Then a person – nurse? – came in with a smile that was at first hesitant then became blindingly bright as the nurse checked on her and gave her water so that her voice could come out raspingly. After the nurse left, hours passed – or maybe minutes, how could she know? There was no clock and that struck her as strange as well – and then the doorway was filled by a small boy with dark eyes and hair that stuck out strangely and familiarly all at once. 

The boy walked towards her bed then hesitantly – why so hesitant? Did the boy and the nurse fear her? – said, “Imouto?”

Her eyes widened then and she gasped. Why did that title seem so odd, so strange? Why did it fill her with such fear? She began to find it hard to breathe and she gasped out, “Wh-who are you?”

The boy’s eyes also widened, then shuttered with sadness and pain – and she briefly thought that no little boy, whoever they were, should look that way – and said, “Imouto? Did you forget me? I- it’s me. Sasuke.”

“Sa-Sasuke?” She looked around the room again, hoping to find an answer, any answer, and then she whispered, “Who am I?”

***

It took days before she remembered what had happened to cause her memory lapse. It took a little longer before she remembered her life Before and her name. It only took moments for her to remember her brother, Sasuke, and gather him into her arms as he broke down into tears. She stroked his hair and murmured nothings as her mind raced to figure out what was happening. When nurses attempted to enter the room, she bared her teeth until they left. Even if she didn’t know who she was, she knew enough that her brother did not need others to see him at his weakest.

After her memory came back, ANBU came to guide them back to the compound. She kept her hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, for him and for herself, as they came back to the Before-After. Dried red splatters were on buildings, but at least they had the sense of mind to clear away the bodies before allowing two children to come back to the nightmare that is reality. The main house was clean, but both her and Sasuke did not even look to The Room. The ANBU stood in the shadows as they surveyed the emptiness. Even though she felt her breath shudder for a moment, she turned to face the shadowed corner and said, “We will not stay here. Find us a furnished apartment.” The ‘It’s the least you can do’ goes unsaid but heard. 

Sasuke glanced at her and then turned and nodded, no words needed to convey the wishes of the Clan Head. 

After a few hours, they found themselves in a two-room apartment that was unstained by red and untouched by echoes of loneliness. They quietly moved about the rooms, absentmindedly settling things in places that seemed right and making preparations to eat food that was not like – was different from Before-After. 

As the sun blinked and moved behind the horizon, and the as the moon and stars shone through the dark of the sky, they both found themselves in the hallway, poised to go to their separate rooms. She took a step towards her room and she remembered that in the Before she lived alone in a city – yes, it was a city… not like the village of Konoha… it was a different world… was this the real world or that one? – and she had taken comfort in her solitude. Yet, right now, there was no comfort in the silence, in the still quick-breathing of Sasuke. She impulsively grabbed him, ignored how rigid he became, and pulled him into her room.

Sasuke’s gratitude went unsaid but heard.


	2. The Hope of a New Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Onwards with the introductions, the formation of teams, and the typical Bell test! Will our OC be in the same team as Naruto? Will Sasuke become friends with Naruto? (Who am I kidding?) Will Kakashi hate his team? (Lol.) WHAT WILL HAPPEN?! Read to find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! I was so excited to see the comments and kudos :D It made me more excited to write, believe it! ;) Haha well I hope you enjoy the chapter! Go forth, and read, with the SPRINGTIME OF - forgive me, I couldn't help myself, but I stopped just in time! ;) XD 
> 
> Please do read the note at the end. It's important. All my words are important, BELIEVE IT. 
> 
> This is unbeta-d though... so I apologize for any grammar mistakes. I tried to be careful and read through multiple times, but... *sigh*

The day they finally graduated from the Academy did not start off any differently from any other day. She could feel the palpable excitement from Sasuke though, even if his face did not betray him. Hiding a small smile, she prepared their bags for their graduation exam. 

Even though it was strange to think about, she knew that she remembered two lives, though she didn’t remember the first life until after the Massacre. In that previous life, this world was simply fiction. While the details are largely fuzzy – she could remember clear events up to Asuma’s death… and simple plot twists after – she knew enough to know that her and Sasuke would be placed in one team – one simply can’t separate the sole Uchiha survivors, after all – and they would be with Naruto, under Kakashi. 

Fiction or not, she now knew, for the most part, these characters… no, these people. She adored Iruka-sensei’s kind nature, and found his anger highly amusing. She found all the other fangirls incredibly annoying – that was her brother they were fangirling over! – even if sometimes she wished she was louder like them, had each other like them. Most of all, she knew enough about Naruto that, while he did come off as annoying at times, she couldn’t find it within herself to treat him negatively like the others. Plus, those pranks were rather hilarious, after all. The class rankings stayed pretty close to what she remembered, though she was now the top kunoichi, with Sakura a close second – being an Uchiha, one simply couldn’t lose out to a civilian… or at least that’s what her nii-san told her. 

As Mizuki-sensei handed her the hitai-ate and Iruka-sensei beamed at her, she couldn’t help but feel pride. Even if she did possess prior – or is it future? – knowledge, she had worked hard with her brother to gain her genin status. She deserved that headband, and she was proud of it. She walked out of the room and allowed herself to grin widely at her nii-san and he shook his head in bemusement and simply murmured to her, “I’m proud of you, Imouto.” Her grin only grew wider as she threw her arm around her brother’s shoulders and began the walk home.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw the dejected form of Naruto on the lone swing, but she ignored the need to go comfort him… some events needed to take place, painful though they were.

***

“… and Team 7 will be Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uchiha Satomi.” Amidst the dismayed cries of all the fangirls, she turned in her seat to grin at Naruto. Naruto’s surprised blue eyes met hers for a moment before he grinned widely back at her. 

After Iruka-sensei dismissed them for lunch before they met with their jounin-senseis, she grabbed Sasuke’s hand – ignoring his protests and attempts to make her let go – and pulled him towards Naruto. He looked at the pair of them with hope, distrust, and suspicion. She ignored it all as she grinned at him – forgive me, Uchiha ancestors, but I’m pretty sure I take after Shisui-nii and Obito-nii – and said, “Let’s eat lunch together, Naruto-kun! Where do you want to eat?” 

He grinned back at her immediately, “Ichiraku’s!”

Sasuke scoffed, “Dobe, is that all you think about?”

Naruto glared, “Teme, why wouldn’t I think about ramen! Ramen is only the finest, fit for the gods, dattebayo!” 

Satomi shook her head, all the while grinning, and let out a small giggle, “I like ramen too, Naruto-kun, so that’s a similarity we have.”

Sasuke’s hand gripped hers tighter as Naruto’s eyes turned on her, with a near star-struck expression, “Reeeally, Satomi-chan?” 

“Dobe, don’t look at Satomi like that. Let’s just go, before time runs out and we end up late because of you.” 

They sat down in the stall and ordered their ramen – “Your usual three bowls to start you off, Naruto?” – and waited for their food to arrive. Naruto fidgeted in his seat, stealing glances at both Sasuke and Satomi all the while. 

Deciding that Sasuke was most definitely not going to make any attempts at conversation, and Naruto was simply too unsure and nervous to, she spoke up, “We’re a team now, Naruto-kun and Sasuke-nii. That means we’re… we’re basically family now, you know? We’re going to go on missions together and we’re going to be in life-or-death situations and… we can’t really expect to survive if none of us care about each other. I want us all to get along.” 

She turned to Naruto and said seriously, “I know that my brother can be a little… cold sometimes, but he’s not that bad. He’s kind of a tsundere, you know?” She chuckled at Sasuke’s insulted growl and Naruto’s surprised laugh, then continued, “I also know that I’m pretty quiet… and I get lost in my thoughts a lot and I can be selfish when it comes to things I care about. But, Naruto-kun, we have to all get along now.” 

Turning to Sasuke, she said, “And Nii-san… Naruto-kun is our teammate now. You might find him annoying and a ‘dobe’, but he thinks you’re a bastard and I can’t argue about that with the way you treat him. For the sake of survival, though, we have to move on and work together.” 

Sasuke elbowed her for her cursing, but otherwise remained silent, as did Naruto. They all ate their ramen quietly, other than the slurp of the noodles, and they remained quiet even after finding themselves back in the classroom waiting for their sensei. 

She knew that Team 7 was a team that was essentially meant to fail, and that she had taken Sakura’s spot – though she really couldn’t find it within herself to regret taking her spot… Sasuke is her twin, damn it, and no fangirl is worth the separation – hopefully, though, her words were enough to get them both to think. After all, their survival honestly did depend on a Team 7 that actually worked together and a sensei that got his shit together and trained them seriously. Satomi did not plan on defecting and going to Orochimaru – she really did not want to abandon her brother but… Orochimaru versus staying in Konoha really isn’t a difficult choice –nor did she plan on dying, not until she could smack Itachi and the rest of the Uchiha family. She did not plan on dying until after she got her happily-ever-after, even though the chances for that were pretty much nil. 

The hours ticked by and she did her level best to reign in her irritation. Sasuke was just as annoyed as her, if not more so since he didn’t know Kakashi like she did, and Naruto was fidgeting restlessly until he burst out, “I can’t take this anymore! I’m going to teach that jerk a lesson!”

Her and Sasuke watched as Naruto balanced precariously on a chair and placed the eraser in the doorway, and she felt her lips twitch upwards. Really, Kakashi did deserve it… she honestly wished the prank was worse than a little chalk dust in his hair though. 

Sasuke glanced at her and noticed her amusement, so he reigned in his annoyance at Naruto and simply turned his head to look out the window, but he did mutter under his breath about how their sensei is a jounin and wouldn’t fall for such a dumb trick. 

Naruto giggled as he settled back into his seat and she turned around and whispered to him, “I wish you had itching powder or something on you, Naruto-kun… he deserves it after making us wait for, what, three hours?”

Naruto outright laughed and said, after quieting down, “Satomi-chan, you’re a lot different than what I thought.”

She tilted her head and looked at him curiously, “What did you think?”

Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his head and replied, “Ah, well, you see… since you were Sasuke’s little sister, and so quiet, I just thought you were like him, you know? I was glad you weren’t a fangirl, which would’ve been weird since he’s your brother, but, you know, I just wasn’t expecting you to be so… nice. Not, like, in a bad way, dattebayo! Just… yeah.” 

Smiling, she nodded, “Thank you for thinking I’m nice, but I don’t want you to be under any delusions. I’m a selfish person, but I hope to soon be selfish for you, as well as my brother.”

He looked at her confused and opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but she simply shook her head and faced the front of the classroom again. 

As expected, Kakashi arrived soon after and found his hair covered in chalk dust. Sasuke’s eyes slightly widened in disbelief before he scoffed and looked away, completely unimpressed. Naruto burst out laughing and rolled onto the floor, still laughing, no plans on stopping. Satomi simply grinned and giggled softly, while her eyes drank in the sight of this character-come-person. His hair really did stick straight up, defying gravity, and he was really suspicious-looking with his whole face – albeit his right eye… really? – covered like that. 

Kakashi simply eye-smiled and said, “Maa, my first impression of you guys… I hate you. Meet me on the roof.” 

The three of them looked at each other in shock before deciding to just high-tail it up to the roof. This whole process would have been made easier if they had known how to tree-walk or even use Shunshin no Jutsu. Either way, they found themselves up on the roof on the three pointless steps, facing their sensei.

“Right then, let’s introduce ourselves, shall we? Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, that sort of thing.”

An awkward silence descended upon them before she cleared her throat and asked, “Sensei? How about you go first, since we don’t even know who you are yet?”

He eye-smiled again at that and replied, “Maa, right you are. Well, I’m Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate… I don’t feel like telling you. My dreams for the future… hm. As for hobbies, I have lots of hobbies.” 

They all sweat dropped at that. This guy… what was it that Gai said? He’s just too hip and cool, that’s for sure, but mostly annoying. 

Sighing, she decided to move things along, “I’m Uchiha Satomi. I like my twin brother, reading, ramen, and writing. I dislike idiots who think they can control other people’s lives, fangirls, and power-hungry assholes. My hobbies are training with my brother, reading books, and writing stories. My dream for the future is to help my brother and, now, Naruto-kun, kick a certain someone’s ass, and live long enough to see my kids grow up.” 

“Alright, blondie, you go next.”

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like instant ramen, and the ramen Iruka-sensei buys me at Ichiraku’s. I hate the three minutes you have to wait for the ramen after you pour the water in and my hobbies are eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them! My dream is to surpass the Hokage, so the whole village will acknowledge my existence!” 

“… Okay then. You, last one.”

“My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don’t particularly like many things, besides my sister. I dislike many things. What I have is not a dream, but a reality… I’m going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone.” 

“Sasuke. Please. I’m your little sister. I really do not need to hear about you getting laid.” 

Sasuke immediately glared at me, though I could see the slightest hint of pink creeping up on his face. Naruto nervously chuckled at my joke and Kakashi simply watched all of us.

“… Right. Well. You’re all unique and interesting. We’ll have our first mission tomorrow.”

Naruto immediately burst into movement, “Yes! What kind of mission?”

“A survival exercise,” Kakashi replied, his eyes surveying each of them for their reactions.

While Sasuke and Satomi remained quiet, Naruto asked excitedly, “What kind of survival exercise? Like the ones we had at the Academy?”

“No, this is a different kind of exercise… and if I tell you, you’re not going to like the answer.”

Satomi resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Kakashi really was enjoying the chance to freak them out, made more evident by that laugh that came out of him. Sighing, she asked, “Sensei… what’s with the creepy laugh. Just tell us what kind of exercise we’ll be doing.”

“You asked for it.” He bent over slightly and the aura around them immediately grew tense, “Out of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will pass and become genin. The others will be sent back to the Academy, or to the Genin Corps… in other words, this exercise is a pass or fail test, and the chance that you’ll fail is at least 66% or higher.” 

Dismayed, the three of them stared at their sensei, at a loss for words. Sasuke’s hands were clenched into fists, and Satomi, even knowing that they would pass, couldn’t help but gape at Kakashi. Naruto was looking down, his bangs covering his face. Then, breaking the tense atmosphere, Naruto yelled out, “I’m not going back to the Academy, dattebayo! We’re going to pass that test, no doubt about it! We’re going to become genin, Kakashi-sensei, believe it!” 

Satomi smiled at that and looked at Naruto, “You’re right, Naruto-kun, we are going to pass that test. Thank you for reminding me.”

Naruto glanced back at her and his face went slightly pink as he rubbed the back of his head, “Ah, no problem, Satomi-chan…” 

“Hm. Interesting. In either case, I decide whether you all pass or fail. So meet me at the designated training ground at five in the morning and bring your ninja gear.” Jauntily, Kakashi stood, turned, and raised a hand to wave good-bye, then turned back and looked over his shoulder, “That’s it. You’re dismissed. Oh, and you might want to skip breakfast tomorrow… or you’ll throw up.”

Disappearing in a pile of leaves, the three watched their sensei leave. Satomi looked at her brother, taking in his determined angry face – it was amazing how much easier being an Uchiha makes reading their faces – and then looked towards Naruto and his nervous stance but determined eyes. Smiling, she stood up and said, “Naruto-kun, would you like to have dinner with us so we can discuss and prepare for tomorrow?”

Naruto’s eyes found hers and he grinned immediately, though his hand came up to the back of his head, “Of course, Satomi-chan! We’re going to pass that test!”

Satomi laughed quietly, “Yes we are, Naruto-kun… We’ll make sure of it.”

***

Naruto honestly wasn’t sure what to think of them. 

For all their years at the Academy, he was sure he had understood what kind of people they were. He knew most of his classmates didn’t like him, and, really, only Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji could be called his friends, if that. Iruka-sensei was the only one who was nice to him, and he even cared about him! Sakura-chan, though he did think she was pretty and smart, could hit really hard and her fangirl tendencies were annoying sometimes – just sometimes! He still liked her, honest. All the other girls kind of blended into that collective group of fangirls. Hinata was the only one who wasn’t a fangirl, but she was so quiet, and she always turned so red and sometimes even fainted – she had to be ill! – every time he tried to talk to her that she also just kind of went out of his notice.

Yet, he thought he had figured the twins out like he did everyone else. He thought he knew that they didn’t like him, that they thought they were better than everyone else. Sasuke sure acted like a real bastard, even if, sometimes, Naruto looked at his eyes and thought they looked like the ones he saw in the mirror every day. Satomi, though… she was quiet all throughout the Academy. She never really had any friends besides her brother, though he did catch her looking wistfully at the other girls sometimes. She was also at the top in their class, second only to Sasuke, though she never bragged about it. Also, he had seen her smile whenever he got pulled into the classroom after some prank, unlike everyone else who looked annoyed. He had thought those smiles were mocking him… but maybe not. 

When he had heard Iruka-sensei announce that he was with Sasuke and Satomi, he didn’t know how to feel. He had wanted to be with Sakura-chan and he was about to complain when Satomi turned in her seat to smile at him. Then she invited him to lunch with her and her brother, even though Sasuke looked like that was the last thing he wanted to do. Then she said she liked ramen – if he didn’t like Sakura-chan already, maybe that would have been the moment where he would have started liking Satomi, just for that. Then she told him that they were a team… a family. That they all had to work together. So that they would survive. Then she had said she wished he had itching powder – seriously, why didn’t he carry itching powder with him? Or colored dye, something! That would have made the prank so much better! Note to self, carry pranking supplies always – on that chalk eraser. Then, while introducing herself, she said she wanted to help him – him, the dobe, the prankster, the guy the whole village hated, the container of the Nine-Tails – and her brother. Then she thanked him. And she always uses an honorific when talking to him – which no one really did. Then she invited him to their home and made dinner for him – which no had ever done for him, ever! – and she looked at him with eyes he had never seen on anyone besides the Old Man, Iruka-sensei, Teuchi, and Ayame. 

He didn’t know what to think. 

He didn’t want her to ever look at him in any other way though. He wanted her to always look at him like that, to thank him, to care about him… to… to be his friend. He wanted her friendship. 

Even if he didn’t know what to think, he knew he didn’t want this – whatever this was – to stop. For that, he’d put up with Sasuke and their weird sensei.

Just for that.

***

The training ground came into view and she stilled suddenly. Sasuke turned his head towards her and quirked a brow, “Satomi?”

Hesitantly, she raised her eyes to him and said softly, “Nii-san… I want to pass this test and be a genin. I want to be a part of this team and learn under Kakashi-sensei. I want all that. But, Nii-san… I’m also scared. I don’t want to die. I don’t want you to die.”

Sasuke’s eyes watched her silently, taking in her slightly dilated pupils, her quiet and shaky breaths, her pale pallor. He looked around to see if their sensei or Naruto had shown up yet and, seeing no one, he turned and grabbed her hand. “Imouto, look at me.”

He waited until her eyes met his and then he pulled her in a little closer, as if by shielding her view of the training ground with his body he would shield her from the world, and said softly, “Imouto, I won’t tell you to not be scared. I won’t tell you that I won’t die, or that you won’t. I won’t tell you that. But I will tell you that you aren’t alone. You have me. We’ll get through this and get stronger, just like we have… before.”

Satomi smiled softly at that and impulsively hugged him, even though she knew he hated public displays of affection, and then murmured into his shoulder, “Thank you, nii-san. You have me too… and now Naruto-kun and Kakashi-sensei. We aren’t alone. We will get through this.” Pulling away, she dropped his hand and turned back to the training ground and began walking, “I love you, nii-san. You are the best big brother a girl could ask for.”

She chuckled as he kicked her for that, and her heart warmed at the sight of the pink at the tip of his ears. Yes… he was the best big brother. Even if he did his best to be cold and removed, he never let her think he didn’t love her.

And she loved him for it.

***

“You’re late!”

“Maa, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way.” Ignoring the grumbles and the piercing glare from one Uchiha, he said, “Let’s get started. The alarm is set for noon. Your assignment is very simple… you just have to take these bells from me before the alarm goes off. That’s all there is to it. If you can’t get it by noon, you’ll be tied to those posts and you’ll watch as I eat my lunch in front of you.”

Expectantly, he waited for the horrified cries, but his cute genin simply watched him. “I see you ate already, which shows that you’re already breaking out of the mindless following that the Academy drilled into you. That’s good. Anyways, if you haven’t noticed, there are only two bells… the one who doesn’t get the bell gets sent back to the Academy. Or, of course, all of you could fail and go back to the Academy. Any questions?” Pausing, he waited and took in the watchful eyes of the girl, the determined glint in those eyes, and the resentment in the stance of the other. “Alright. You may use any of your weapons, including shuriken. You must come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise you won’t get any of the bells.” 

He waited for something, anything, from the three and he couldn’t help but feel slightly puzzled when the three simply shifted their stances and waited for him. Perhaps he should have watched and followed them after dismissing them after all…

“Ready… start!”

*** 

The three jumped off to their respective hiding spots and he felt a slight stirring of something that could be pride – perhaps having to take them on won’t be so bad and they’ll have a chance… and history won’t repeat itself – as he glanced around. Languidly, his every movement an art of laziness in itself, he pulled out his prized Icha Icha Paradise and waited for their move. 

Calling out, he said, “Ninja must know how to conceal their movements and hide effectively… Glad to see you all understand that much.”

Waiting once more for something – he wasn’t sure why but he had expected Naruto to jump out and face him, yelling something about facing him fair and square – but, once again, nothing happened. He would not admit to being surprised. He was slightly intrigued though. 

Then out came an innumerable amount of shadow clones, all in groups of three and some henged into Sasuke and Satomi, and they attacked all at once. He would never admit to the slight curling of lips, in appreciation, as he started to take the clones out. His genin – and when did he start claiming them? – were turning out more interesting than he expected. 

Before he knew it, the real Naruto jumped on him, aiming for the bells, and then a Grand Fireball headed towards him and he Kawarimi’d out of there only to find himself swarmed with clones once again and before he knew it, he found himself staring at three grinning genin, with Satomi holding up the bells.

Appraisingly, he straightened up and looked at them, “Satomi, I see you have the bells. Who will you give it to and who will be going back to the Academy?”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he said, “But, Kakashi-sensei –!”

Satomi smiled and handed the bells to both Naruto and Sasuke and said, “We all worked together to get the bells, with Naruto’s shadow clones and Sasuke’s Grand Fireball and ninja wire. If anything, I should be the one to go back to the Academy.”

Naruto immediately cried out, “Satomi-chan! We wouldn’t have gotten the bells if it weren’t for your plan! We all deserve to stay, dattebayo!”

Sasuke looked up with a vicious glare and said, “There are only four man cells under a jounin sensei, never just three.” 

Satomi smiled and simply looked at Kakashi, waiting for the verdict.

He eye-smiled and said cheerfully, “You all pass! You seemed to have grasped the meaning of the test – teamwork. Now, follow me, I want to show you something.”

He led the three confused, yet relieved, genin to the Memorial stone. Before he spoke to them, he let himself think of Minato-sensei, Rin… Obito. Perhaps this team... his team can succeed where they had failed. Perhaps.

“This is the KIA Memorial Stone, and on here are the names of heroes… of those who were killed in action. The names of my closest friends are engraved here.” He looked towards them and said, “You saw through the deception of the test, like a true ninja, unlike the other genin teams I’ve failed before. You understood and worked together. If there is one thing I want you to learn from me, I want you to know that, in the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, which is true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.” 

The three simultaneously straightened and nodded, understanding the gravity of the lesson. Perhaps there is hope after all.

Eye-smiling, he raised his hand in a half wave as he turned to Shunshin out of there, “I will see you all tomorrow, bright and early, for your first mission!”

Yes, there might just be hope in the three of them. They might just survive. They might just be better than the other Team 7s before. 

He’d like to believe in that.

***

Satomi turned, a flutter in her stomach, and grinned at the two of them, “It all worked out, after all!”

Naruto laughed, his blue eyes gleaming and she was happy that the day hadn’t gone the way it should have Before. Naruto didn’t deserve to be made into a fool… or left tied to a post. No, Naruto did not deserve that.

Sasuke’s lips lifted slightly and he shook his head, “I think the dobe’s attitude is rubbing off on you too much, Satomi. Let’s just go home.”

Satomi giggled at Naruto’s indignant cry and Sasuke’s smirk, then said, “Naruto, why don’t you come with us for lunch?”

Sasuke’s eyes met hers briefly, and she mentally told him that she would not budge. Naruto was not going to go home alone… not when she could prevent it. Especially not when she knew she should have helped before, but didn’t because she was too much of a coward. 

Plus, seeing Naruto’s disbelieving eyes, full of brimming hope and joy, how could she not offer?

This was a new beginning for all of them. She wasn’t a god, and she couldn’t expect to always have foresight… but she could make small ripples where she could, and hope it would all turn out right in the end.

There’s always hope, after all, and she wasn’t about to give that up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo.... what do you think of Satomi's name? What do you think of her character? I actually didn't expect the chapter to end up as long as it did... but I wanted to get rid of the whole introduction and get on with the story! I'm slightly impatient, I guess. I hope it wasn't too rushed though! 
> 
> I did my best to make sure you all got enough info... though I did rush the Bell Test... I wanted to make it all unique, but I also just wanted it done with. So... that's what happened. I just put the bare minimum of details and kind of left it up to you. Though it was from Kakashi's POV (which, btw, is a PAIN to write -_- Kakashi is just too much of an enigma, jeez) so hopefully that was a little different? 
> 
> Btw, please, please, pretty please let me know if you think Sasuke is OOC. I'm really trying here, but I do think he'd act a little different from canon cause he isn't alone and he's a big brother, not just a little bro. I'd think he'd be a little (maybe a lot) over-protective.
> 
> Also, Satomi IS an Uchiha and she knows that... but she's also not, so that's why she grins/laughs a lot. But she is shy, which is why it takes the official formation of Team 7 before she actually talks to Naruto. 
> 
> Naruto is so adorable :D I hope he's not OOC O_O I also have a headcanon that nobody uses honorifics when they talk to Naruto (besides Itachi lol) cause he's the "demon brat." I'm not really sure if that's completely accurate, but for the sake of this fic, it is! So expect Satomi and Itachi to be of the few who call him Naruto-kun haha. Ugh. And Orochimaru. I just remembered that... ew. 
> 
> Btw, there will be no bashing of characters, and I'll do my best to abide by that. I do like Sakura, and I'll make sure she becomes the badass she deserves to be! Just, in a different way. 
> 
> Anyways, I'll get started on the next chapter soon :D Please comment and let me know what you think. It definitely helps motivate me and get ideas moving. I don't want Satomi to be a Mary Sue, obvs, so I'll need help making sure she's not. 
> 
> OH. ALSO. ROMANCE. Yeah, idk, I'm not big on writing it, though I am huge on reading it! But, as I was writing the chapter, I kind of started shipping Naruto and Satomi, but IDK IF THAT'LL ACTUALLY HAPPEN. I mean, unless Y'ALL want it to happen... *hint hint* ;) 
> 
> And, also, Wave Mission? Hm... I'm still deciding on it. Lemme know if you want that to happen. Talk to meee, I'm a lonely person... ;) :D <3
> 
> Until next time, y'all! :D


	3. Establishing Chances of Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slight transitioning and character development... we see possible training developments of Team 7!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story might end up going a little slower than I anticipated. I originally wanted this update to include up to their first C-rank, but I ended up writing this... do read the note at the end for important words from me, your esteemed writer ;) :)

They made their way to the training grounds and Satomi smiled easily at Naruto’s palpable excitement for their first official mission as a team. Though, once he found out what exactly the mission would be… well, it would be great motivation to get as strong as possible so they could move up in ranks. Sighing softly, she took in the beautiful day and closed her eyes. Even if she had an almost clear idea of what was going to happen in the future – if things went accordingly before her presence rippled the future and created a completely new one, that is, or however these things work – she couldn’t really remember what her past life was. This life was what she knew, even if the Massacre was the reason for her remembering her past one. 

As they waited for Kakashi, she wondered if he would take their training seriously and actually prepare them for what was in store. While Kakashi is an amazing shinobi, his sensei skills were perhaps lacking, as were his social skills in general. Hopefully, the three of them could help Kakashi… he didn’t deserve to be wallowing in guilt for things beyond his control, especially when he had dedicated himself to a person who had orchestrated so much of the strife that had happened and was in store.

They all needed saving, and all she could do was hope that a few words and actions would bring about the necessary change. If only for their survival. 

Finally, after waiting for three hours, Kakashi showed up in a Shunshin, his hand up in a half-wave, eye-smiling, as he said, “Maa, sorry I’m late, an old lady was stranded on the side of the road and I couldn’t leave her there, so I did my duty as a proud shinobi of Konoha and took her home.”

Satomi snorted out a laugh as Naruto yelled at Kakashi for being a liar and Sasuke glared at him for his barely believable excuse. 

“Maa, maa, settle down. I have your first mission today!” 

Immediately, Naruto jumped up, excited, and even Sasuke straightened up in anticipation. Satomi simply smiled up at Kakashi, maintaining her sitting position on the ground. 

“Sensei! What will our mission be? Will we be saving princesses? Will we be fighting off bandits? Oh! Will we be saving a princess from bandits?”  
Satomi laughed and stood up to ruffle Naruto’s hair, fully exploiting the slight height advantage she had on the blond, “Naruto, I highly doubt they’re going to entrust some princess to a bunch of Academy graduates.” 

“Satomi’s right, Naruto. I’m not sure where you got that idea, but genin start off with D-ranks, which is what we’ll be doing today. Follow me, my cute little genin, to the missions office and you’ll see just what kind of mission you’ll be getting.” 

They started walking towards the missions office, Kakashi with his nosed buried in his book, Naruto still excitedly bouncing, and Sasuke with his hands buried in his pockets and emanating a too-cool-for-you vibe. Satomi slowed down slightly so she was walking next to Kakashi, with Naruto and Sasuke ahead of them slightly. 

She could swear she could almost feel Kakashi’s curiosity, but he stayed silent and waited for her to speak first, “Kakashi-sensei, I was just wondering when we’ll start training… and what we’ll be doing.”

“Hm, before I answer, why do you want to know? It is a sensei’s prerogative to train their students however they wish, and whether or not they wish to disclose their plans.”

Satomi’s eyes widened and she nearly stopped walking in her surprise and dismay at possibly offending Kakashi, “Oh! Sensei, I didn’t mean it like that! I was just curious, that’s all. Also, I just wanted to ask, because, well… I’ll explain why, if you tell me what your plans are. I know you don’t have to tell me, but I promise I have a reason.” 

“You all displayed good teamwork for a fresh team yesterday, but I wasn’t able to test your individual strengths and weaknesses adequately. Right now, I plan on focusing on teamwork before I move onto chakra control.”

Satomi nodded as she considered what Kakashi said. What he said followed what had happened with Team 7 before, and it gave a new perspective on why Kakashi had taught them so little. He simply thought he had more time before he lost all his students to the Legendary Sannin. Not just that, Kakashi has his own issues, and he probably thought it would be better for his students to gain better teachers than him… and Sasuke’s defection after Kakashi’s talk most assuredly didn’t help his outlook on his teaching capabilities. 

With that thought in mind, Satomi’s eyes looked up at Kakashi with a determined glint, “Sensei, I think your plan is more than adequate… but, do you think we can all have a team meeting after the mission today to discuss our individual strengths and weaknesses? I’m not being impatient, but… I just want us to learn more than chakra control and teamwork. You’re a legendary shinobi in your own right, and I want us all to learn as much as we possibly can from you.”

Kakashi looked down at her in an appraising way and he slightly nodded, “That sounds fine, Satomi. Though I highly doubt it’s just because of me that you want to learn more right now, now is it?”

Satomi immediately blushed and lowered her head, “Ah, yes. There’s another reason and I’ll tell you later.”

“Very well. I’ll hold you to that.” 

As they walked into the office to collect their mundane mission of painting a fence, Satomi muttered under her breath, “I don’t doubt that you will…” 

***

When Sakura found out she wasn’t in a team with Sasuke, she was sure she felt her heart break. Even if it was rational that Sasuke and Satomi be placed in a team together – okay, maybe not that rational. Relatives usually aren’t placed on the same team! That’s just asking for trouble! – why did Naruto, that dead-last baka get on the same team as Sasuke? She could have handled anyone but him! She had worked so hard in the Academy, making sure to arrange the flowers perfectly, to answer all the questions correctly, to get the highest scores – and would’ve been top kunoichi if it wasn’t for Satomi – to look good even during a taijutsu match… she even sacrificed her only friend to ensure that she would gain Sasuke’s notice.

None of her hard work or sacrifices had amounted to anything.

She didn’t end up on a team with Sasuke. 

Instead, she ended up on a team with two other civilians and a sensei with a propensity to cough every few seconds. Instead, she ended up with a team that failed some second test that no one had told her about. Instead of realizing her dreams, she ended up failing, all on the whim of some jounin and some other higher-ups who didn’t just place her on Sasuke’s team in the first place. Instead, she’s here, back at the Academy, to sign up for the Genin Corps. 

Sighing, she looked up and noticed that the person at the desk for the Genin Corps sign-up sheet was Iruka-sensei. Blushing when she arrived at the front, she hastily signed the sheet, hoping he wouldn’t say anything.

“Sakura! How are you doing?”

Damn it.

Smiling, she looked up and said, “Iruka-sensei! I’m doing well, just slightly sad I didn’t end up with a genin team…”

Iruka-sensei rubbed his nose scar sheepishly, then smiled encouragingly, “I’m glad you’re not letting that set you back though, Sakura. I’m happy to see that you’re serious about being a kunoichi. Going through the Corps might be more difficult than with a team, but I have every faith that you’ll get through!”

She could feel her smile become more real as she took in her past sensei’s words, “Thank you, Iruka-sensei. I needed to hear that.” She took a step back and prepared to go, then stopped and asked, “Actually, sensei, I was wondering… do you, maybe, have any advice for me? I never really looked into this and I’m not really sure what to expect, you see…” 

“Ah, Sakura… all I can advise you is… before you step into the Corps, ask yourself… why do I want to be a shinobi? Seriously think about why you want to be a shinobi. If you don’t know, you won’t get through the Corps. You’ll need to hang onto your reason, and only then will you get through.” Noticing the panicked look on her face, he smiled reassuringly, “Sakura, I have every bit of faith that you will get through and become a Chuunin in no time. Don’t worry.”

She smiled back at him and thanked him for the advice. Calmly she walked out of the Academy and continued home, all the while the smile stayed frozen on her face. All the while, her heart raced faster than when she first looked into Sasuke’s eyes. All the while, her Inner yelled at her – in encouragement or admonishment, she wasn’t sure. All the while, only one thought echoed through her mind… 

Why do I want to be a shinobi?

***

The three genin were exhausted after painting the fence – finished quickly with Naruto’s shadow clones – and finding that hell-cat, Tora. Kakashi eye-smiled at how cute they when they were exhausted. Then, already leading them to the training posts at the training ground, he said “We have a team meeting before you all are dismissed.” 

The three of them nearly collapsed as they sat down and leaned against the posts. They all gulped down their water from their canteens then looked towards Kakashi expectantly.

Amused though he was, he slightly straightened in an effort to be serious and said, “I want you all to introduce yourselves again, but this time analyze your strengths and your weaknesses. As an example, my name is Hatake Kakashi. My strengths are in ninjutsu, tracking, infiltration, and assassination, to name a few. My weaknesses are chakra capacity, I tend to deplete my chakra more often than I should, according to the med-nin. Satomi, you’re up.”

“Ah, my name is Uchiha Satomi. My strengths are… well, I have been told I have good stamina for a female. I’m good at the genjutsu from the Academy and I’m also decent at the Academy taijutsu. I don’t know a lot of ninjutsu beyond the bunshin, kawarimi, henge, and Grand Fireball, but I think I’m good at it. I also think it’s a weakness that I don’t know what I want to specialize in or work on to get better.”

“Interesting. Sasuke, go on.”

“Uchiha Sasuke. I am strong in taijutsu and ninjutsu, and I’m sure once I get the Sharingan I’ll be good at genjutsu as well. I guess a weakness I have is… that I’m arrogant, or so I’ve been told.” Here, Sasuke glares at Satomi who innocently smiles back.

“Alright, Naruto.”

“Uzumaki Naruto! I’m good at the Kage Bunshin and I think I have good stamina, Iruka-sensei told me! I’m weak in… well, sometimes I don’t think before jumping in, I guess… Iruka-sensei also told me that…”

“Very well. Let me tell you what I see as each of your strengths and weaknesses, as I’m not sure you were accurate enough. Naruto, you are strong in stealth and trap-making as well, courtesy of your pranks. Not many Academy students can outrun ANBU, after all. You are correct in saying that you are weak in not strategizing, which could get you killed one day if you’re not careful. You do have incredible stamina. Sasuke, you were accurate in your report and arrogance is most definitely your weakness, which could get you killed. Satomi, you were also accurate in your report, though I consider your weakness to be that you seem to think you need to take care of everyone, which shows a lack of trust in your teammates that could get you killed. As you can see, we do have a lot to work on. We need you all to have good chakra control and make sure you are proficient in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu before I can consider anything more.” 

Satomi then said, “Kakashi-sensei, I was wondering, if we’re willing to put in the work, how soon do you think we can begin working on more?”

“Eagerness is all well and good, however, impatience is a whole other case. Either way, I suspect it will take, at the least, a month and a half.” 

Satomi nodded then said, “Can I talk to you privately then, Kakashi-sensei?”

They both walked off to the side of the training ground and Satomi then said, “Sensei, it’s not that I am being impatient or anything like that… it’s just… I’m not sure how to explain that I feel like we won’t be prepared enough for whatever is in store.”

“Try.”

“Ah… Kakashi-sensei… I just have this feeling that something bad will happen soon and that we won’t be prepared. I love Sasuke, and I care about you and Naruto-kun. I don’t want our team to be broken up or something. I know it doesn’t sound like a good reason, to over-prepare due to a feeling I’m having, but there’s no harm in hurrying through training as long as we can handle it right?”

Kakashi’s eyes scrutinized her, taking in her wide eyes and flushed face. Though he wanted to dismiss her feelings, he couldn’t help but also feel as though he should heed them. He nodded then and replied, “As long as you all can handle it and are willing to put in the work, I have no problem with accelerating your training.”

Turning, he headed back and she followed him. Once they were all in the same place again, Kakashi said, “What do each of you want to learn from me? I’ve told you my strengths and weaknesses. From that, what do you want me to teach you?”

Naruto bounced up eagerly, “Ah, Kakashi-sensei! I want to learn cool jutsus and also get better at taijutsu! So I can get stronger and become the Hokage!”

Kakashi didn’t respond, instead turning to survey the twins.

Sasuke finally murmured, “The dobe and I are on the same page… for once and probably the last time.”

Naruto smiled at that, but indignantly cried out, “Teme!” 

Satomi smiled as well then said, “Well, I’d like to learn kenjutsu… like my mom. Or even fuuinjutsu. I want to branch out. While I’m sure that Naruto and Sasuke can both be ninjutsu, or even taijutsu, specialists… I don’t really see myself in any of the three. Genjutsu is… it’s his technique, and I’m not really sure I want to follow that in any case. I also can’t really see myself on the sideline as a med-nin. I want to be able to be badass on my own, and to be able to support my teammates without dragging anyone down.”

Kakashi eye-smiled, then turned to go, “We’ll see what we can do. I’ll see you all bright and early tomorrow! Don’t be late!”

With that, he Shunshin’d out, leaving the three to wonder exactly what kind of training would be in store for them.

***

Sakura was walking aimlessly through the village, still wondering about what she wanted. 

Tomorrow morning, she would head to the Genin Corps building and she wasn’t even sure what to expect. Would it be like the Academy, lessons in more tai-, nin-, and maybe even genjutsu? Maybe they would go out on missions, since she is a Genin and still has her headband… just not the team to go with it… Maybe they will still assign a team and she can still impress Sasuke and get him to acknowledge her as worthy of his love and – 

She snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Naruto’s loud voice yelling at someone about how ramen is perfectly healthy. She snorted and couldn’t help the resentment that stirred up in her. Following the sound of his voice, she found Naruto, Satomi and – to her pleased surprise – Sasuke! They were all sitting at a ramen stand and seemed to be waiting on their order. 

Her mood lifted immediately as she, without a thought, bounced up to the stand, “Sasuke-kun! How are you?” 

Sasuke turned and his eyes seemed to see right through her, chilling her, though she kept the smile on her face, even if it became slightly strained. He grunted and turned back, but his sister turned and smiled shyly at her. 

Naruto jumped around in his seat and, with an idiotic grin on his face, cried out, “Sakura-chan! Would you like to join us?” He leaned closer towards her, “It could be our first date! I mean, Satomi and Sasuke are here but we could ignore them and –”

Thoroughly pissed off at Naruto’s attempts to infringe on her attempts to get Sasuke to agree on a date – or even a conversation! She wasn’t feeling particularly picky, honest – she lifted her fist to hit Naruto and his stupid smile, but her fist was intercepted by a pale hand that shot forward and grabbed her wrist. 

Shocked, she looked up to meet deep ebony pools framed by – unfairly – long lashes that stared at her coldly, “Sakura-san, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t hit my teammate and your comrade. After all, all he did was invite you to eat with us, which you are more than welcome to.” 

Feeling slightly lost and repentant, she mutely nodded and seated herself down next to Satomi. She ordered numbly and tuned out Naruto’s chattering. Sasuke was dead silent, even though he would grunt occasionally at Naruto’s rambling or mutter some response. Satomi was silent as well as she waited on her food, but then she turned towards Sakura and softly said, “You shouldn’t hit a comrade for no reason, Sakura-san. Especially since he was just being kind. I’d appreciate it if you would also refrain from doing so in the future.” 

Sakura nodded, still feeling incredibly lost and not knowing what to do in this situation. Satomi smiled at her, and her eyes seemed to warm slightly, “Sakura-san, are you alright? Did you pass your test? Who is your sensei?”

She couldn’t keep the anger out of her voice as she found herself again and replied, “No, my team and sensei are useless. We failed some dumb test, where we had to find some article before sunset.”

Satomi’s eyes became sympathetic and the resentment bubbled up inside her, burning up and her Inner cried out furiously. Satomi softly said, “I’m sorry your team and sensei didn’t work out, Sakura-san. I assume you signed up for the Corps?” She smiled at Sakura, “I can’t see you letting a failed test keep you from being a shinobi.”  
Slightly mollified, she smiled back, “Yes, I signed up for the Corps and will be starting tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you’ll get through it, Sakura-san.”

In silence, they both turned back to the counter to eat the ramen that was placed before them, Naruto still chattering about jutsus or something as he attacked his food, barely pausing for breath. Disgusted, she asked Satomi, “How are you liking being on a team with that baka?”

Satomi quietly placed her chopsticks to the side of her bowl as she paused in her delicate eating, a stark contrast to Naruto. Her voice was still soft, but seemed steelier as she replied, “Sakura-san, I already warned you about hitting him, what makes you think that I won’t be offended by how you talk about Naruto-kun as well? He is my teammate, and I am honored to be on a team with him. We all get along well, Sakura-san, and we did pass our test.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond to that and so she quickly ate her food, her cheeks burning in mortification. There was no doubt Sasuke had heard how her sister had spoken to her and he was most likely thinking the worst of her as well. It wasn’t her fault that Naruto just got on her every nerve! It wasn’t her fault that… that… that she felt this way.

It wasn’t her fault and she wasn’t going to stay there while someone made her feel like it was. 

Once she finished her bowl, she placed the money on the counter and muttered good-byes to the three. She barely restrained herself from running out as she tuned out Naruto’s cries to stay longer, Sasuke’s silence, and Satomi’s soft ‘good luck tomorrow.’

It wasn’t her fault that Naruto and Satomi were in her way and she had let that resentment come out in her voice. Normally she wouldn’t be so obvious about her feelings, but today just wasn’t her day. 

It wasn’t her fault that the world was conspiring against her.

It wasn’t her fault.

(Even though she felt like it was inside.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly had a hard time deciding what I wanted Satomi to do. I kind of hate how all females end up being placed into the med-nin route, though I do understand that it's necessary and all that. However, I honestly only think Sakura, in the anime/manga, actually benefitted from that specialization, since it helped her confidence.... just my personal opinion :)
> 
> I finally decided on either kenjutsu or fuuinjutsu, which will be a pain to write the training for lol. I don't want Satomi to be a Mary Sue, but she IS an Uchiha :P
> 
> I'm not particularly as happy with this chapter as I'd like to be, but I do like the parts I wrote for Sakura :D I don't like pre-Shippuden Sakura, but I know she has potential to be a badass. Though it'll take time, as is evident here. Also, I don't character bash, and I hope none of this came out as that! 
> 
> I have decided to possibly have a mission other than Wave :D It might take me longer to figure out what the mission will be, which is why I decided to update what I have written so far, just to get more input from y'all. I'm a serious perfectionist, so I need input to keep me from criticizing myself too much and stopping writing altogether. So, please, tell me how this chapter is and if you didn't like, if you liked it, why, etc.
> 
> My biggest worry is the scene where I wrote Satomi wanting Kakashi to train them more seriously... I wasn't very happy with that part and I need you to tell me if it was completely off from the rest of the story. I kept editing it and trying, but I'm not sure...
> 
> I need your validation! ;) Lol jk jk kind of :D XD
> 
> THANK YOU FOR THE KIND COMMENTS AND THE KUDOS AND JUST THANK YOUUUU! Y'all are awesome and you keep me motivated <3


	4. The Blood, Sweat, and Icha Icha Tears of Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some tears will be shed as Team 7 grows. Whether that's from exhaustion or out of laughter... that will be seen.

Perhaps it had been egotistical to tell Kakashi that they could handle anything he threw at them, in hindsight. 

Panting, Satomi wiped the sweat off her brow and leaned over her knees, trying to get breath into her lungs while also trying to stop herself from collapsing like a stick thrown under a boulder. Naruto, legendary stamina or not, had also been worked to his limits and Sasuke was slightly better off than her. Slightly. 

Kakashi, that sadistic bastard, was lazily leaning against a tree, flipping through the pages of his book, not caring at all about his dying students. 

The three of them barely resisted the urge to murder him. That urge might overcome their restraint in due time, however. 

“Well, my adorable genin, what are you standing around for? I thought you agreed to those laps? I thought you all wanted to get stronger? Are you, perhaps, changing your mind?”

It’s official. They all hated Kakashi-sensei and he would be dead. The three of them glanced at each other in mutual understanding and promises of future pain for one one-eyed jounin. 

Naruto, gasping for breath, raised an arm in an attempt at a fist pump and tried to yell between gasps, “I – won’t ever – give – up! That’s – my – nindo, ‘ttebayo!” 

Sasuke, even if he thought the blonde dobe was an absolute idiot and his brain could not comprehend why his sister seemed so fond of the fool, could appreciate how Naruto’s simple words somehow made him feel like he could do whatever he put his mind to. It was a foreign feeling, but not wholly unpleasant. Though he’d never admit it to his imouto, least of all to the usuratonkachi.

Kakashi gleefully peered over his book at his students who were breaking in their new chakra weights by running as many laps as they could around the training ground. Later on, if he truly felt like it, maybe he’d elevate the laps to around Konoha… or, maybe not, he really did not want to know how Gai would respond to that. 

In the two weeks since that team meeting, he had to admit that they had truly showed their determination and their honest desire to get better. They truly all worked hard, even Satomi, which, according to the other jounin-senseis, was not the case with the other kunoichi. They had all improved – Satomi’s stamina, Naruto’s strength, Sasuke’s overall attitude – even just slightly. He couldn’t help the slight pride he felt when he looked upon their determined faces.

He hadn’t anticipated the feelings the three would stir in him, but he wasn’t finding the experience wholly unpleasant either.

***

Sakura was a naïve fool and she cursed her past self’s decisions. Why the hell had she signed up for the Corps? She thought it was going to be like the Academy? Just lessons, more jutsus, and missions, right? That’s what she had thought, right?

If a goddess were to appear before her and ask for her one desire, she’d ask for the ability to go back in time and kick two-weeks-ago-Sakura’s ass into the ground. 

The Genin Corps was no joke. Often, those who ended up there were those who were civilian-born. They had the ability to be shinobi, either through chakra control or skill, but lacked the abilities clan kids had had when they entered the Academy. After all, civilian students entered the Academy by showing chakra ability and everything they learned in the Academy was completely new to them. Clan children had the benefit of having parents who were shinobi, who would train them earlier, taught them clan techniques, and provided a base of support and assistance at any moment. In any case, civilian students were screwed over and hardly any were able to overcome that lack of advantage. Therefore, the Corps was a six-month boot camp to bridge that gap, essentially. They would push the civilian genin with potential into attaining true skill through hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, enough so that once they were sent out onto the field they wouldn’t die a bloody death. 

Sakura had known she had good intellect and also chakra control, even if her chakra reserves were small. What she hadn’t known was that she lacked actual muscle, stamina, strength, basically everything else that makes a shinobi. The instructors at the Corps had taken great joy in beating into her head the uselessness of a diet, her dreams of Sasuke, and her chances of surviving as a shinobi if she didn’t shape up. 

She could admit to herself privately that the two weeks were… they were satisfying. Even though she crawled into bed every night with barely enough energy to pull her covers over herself, she could also see the changes in herself. She felt different. She felt… stronger, more confident, than before. She… she kind of liked this self and even her Inner had quieted lately, simply conveying quiet agreement. She found it easier to voice her true opinion, less concerned with what people thought of her. She found it easier to care less about her appearance when she was trying to ensure she survived enough to see the next morning. 

And… she had also, miraculously enough, figured out why she wanted to be a shinobi in the first place.

It wasn’t because of Sasuke, that came after she attended the Academy, after she met Ino, after. No, she had wanted to be a shinobi because she remembered the kunoichi who had been a part of the team that had protected her family on that business trip when she was a child. She remembered how the kunoichi had moved with grace and intent all at once, and how she had taken out the bandits so easily and then turned to Sakura with a soft smile and calmed her down by saying, “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you or your family. I’ll protect you, with my life.” She remembered that warmth that had risen in her chest and she had felt the desire to be like that person, to have the ability to protect others, as well as herself. 

She had wanted to be a shinobi so she could protect people and tell other little girls that they too could be strong.

So, even if the Corps was Hell on Earth, it was perhaps also a type of Purgatory that was purifying her and making her into a shinobi that she could be proud enough to look up to. 

The blood, sweat, and tears would be worth it in the end.

***

Weeks turned into a month, and the training did not become easier, but they were able to hold out longer. Even if they felt like they were swimming through honey when the weights increased a level, they adjusted faster. The trees no longer had gaping holes due to their lack of chakra control. They were no longer gasping for air and barely walking after a day of training. They mutually decided not to admit that perhaps Kakashi-sensei wasn’t a complete lazy ass since his training had actual results they could see and feel.

Yet, on their day off, they all gathered at the twins’ apartment to discuss exactly how to get Kakashi to feel just a tenth of the pain they had felt. Because no way in hell was Kakashi getting off that easily! 

Satomi placed the bowls of miso soup down before Sasuke’s and Naruto’s place at the table as she thoughtfully hummed in response to Naruto’s comment that Kakashi deserved payback. She smiled as she noted that Sasuke was furiously – for him, that is – nodding in agreement and she decided that this would be the perfect team-bonding experience.

That would be their excuse as they ran for their lives when Kakashi found out, of course.

“Do you have any ideas then, Sasuke? Naruto-kun is the Pranking King of Konoha, sure, but I know you have numerous devious bones in your body… evidence of how you tortured me when we were younger.”

Sasuke’s lips slightly curled upwards as he picked up his spoon, “Tch, that is an older brother’s prerogative.”

She chuckled as she handed the cups of green tea to the boys and then looked at Naruto expectantly, wondering what he would come up with.  


Naruto hastily swallowed his mouthful of soup then grinned at Satomi, “Alright, I say we set up traps in his apartment and –” 

Sasuke delicately snorted, “Dobe, he’s a jounin.”

Satomi nodded behind her cup of tea, “Yes, Naruto-kun, it wouldn’t be very easy to get in and out alive. Plus, he strikes me as more paranoid than other jounin.”  
Naruto’s grin dropped and he muttered, “I’m slightly out of practice… I had decided to give pranks up since becoming a real ninja.”

Smiling, Satomi placed her cup back on the table, “That’s why you have us, Naruto-kun. Our three brilliant minds will surely come up with something worthy of the brief return of the Prank Master.”

Satomi and Sasuke swore they could see ears perking up in excitement and a tail wagging from Naruto as Naruto fairly jumped up, his eyes gleaming maliciously, “That’s it! You know how he always has that pervy book?”

Satomi grinned and clapped her hands in excitement, “Yes! What do you have in mind?”

Even Sasuke leaned forward in excitement as Naruto sat back down to say just what he had in mind, “So, you see, what we have to do is –”

***

The day of doom began as any other. Kakashi went from the black of sleep to sharp awareness in a moment as he awoke. He immediately sat up and went about his morning rituals before walking to the side of the one-room apartment set up as his kitchen. He poured water into the tea kettle and set it to boil as he gazed out of the one window in the room. As he drank his tea and ate his pre-prepared meal of steamed vegetables and rice, he wondered just what tor-training he should have his little genin do today. They had already learned to warm-up before he arrived at the grounds and their tree-walking was near perfect enough to start them on water-walking, so perhaps that’s what they would do today as well as some light sparring. Hm, yes, that sounded perfect.

He grabbed his Icha Icha as he walked out of his apartment and towards the Memorial Stone, the sun just rising in the East. He briefly wondered if he should take to the roofs before deciding he felt like walking the streets, especially since there were hardly anyone about at this time of morning besides the occasional store owners and other early birds. Once he arrived at the stone, he lost himself in his memories as he talked to Minato-sensei, Rin, and Obito. 

The sun was high in the sky before he snapped out of his daze and Shunshin’d to the training grounds to meet his genin. He eye-smiled as he told them, “Sorry I’m late, I was challenged by a green turtle to an eating contest and I couldn’t refuse for the sake of my sanity,” and he valiantly resisted the urge to laugh at their disgruntled expressions and Naruto’s cries about his skill at lying. While the turtle hadn’t challenged him this morning, that didn’t make the excuse any less true. 

He supposed he must be letting his skills get rusty if he didn’t think it was suspicious how they eagerly jumped to the trees to show their tree-walking skills before heading towards the river at the edge of the grounds. Really, he should have noticed how their eyes nearly gleamed when he mentioned light sparring after they started on their water-walking. 

In any case, he told them to figure out what to do and glanced at them from time to time from behind his book. He was pleased to note that they figured out the concept quickly, though putting it into practice proved to be beyond them at the moment. He smirked behind his mask as he turned back to figure out just how much of a bad girl Usagi-chan was… 

Later, after he considered them properly drenched enough, he had them eat before setting up Sasuke and Naruto to spar each other, and Satomi against himself. Satomi’s moves were deliberate, though not as powerful as they could be. She did manage to surprise him a few times with an unexpected move – results of sparring with Naruto, he supposed – but nothing too spectacular. They all still had a lot to improve before they could truly surprise him. After the fifth “kill,” Satomi collapsed on the ground and he turned to watch the boys “spar,” read: fight to the death. Sighing, he walked over to pry the boys apart from actually killing each other; he really would not want to fill out that paperwork. 

It was then, he supposed, that his – really, theirs. They didn’t think they could pull this off without facing imminent death did they? – doom was played out. While he was – slightly – distracted with the boys, Satomi was free to make her move… and make her move she did. 

Satomi threw a shuriken towards him, aimed at his head, which caused him to immediately let go of Naruto and Sasuke so he could dodge to the side and glare at Satomi. Sasuke then attacked his legs with a kick when he glanced at Satomi, and Naruto called forward his shadow clones and they dog-piled him. He Kawarimi’d out with a sigh only to find himself staring at his adorably suicidal genin holding his Icha Icha like a trophy. He stayed silent, intimidating him with his eye alone, wondering how long it would take for them to squeal out just what they thought they were doing. 

Naruto burst out laughing, “We got you, Kakashi-sensei! You didn’t even expect it!”

Even Satomi grinned, “Kakashi-sensei, I think your skills are below your usual standard. Good thing we caught that before we went out on a mission.”

Sasuke smirked, “Hn.”

Yes, they would be wishing for death once he was through with them.

“Maa, my darling genin, exactly what do you think you’re doing?” 

Naruto pointed and laughed, before finally replying, “This is payback! For all those weeks of torture you gave us!”

“Torture? Training, you mean? Training you specifically asked for?”

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck before looking towards Satomi who smirked, showing just how similar in looks both her and Sasuke were, “We were simply putting into practice some of the training you taught us, Kakashi-sensei. After all, if we managed to take hostage a… ‘precious item’ of a Konoha jounin, then you’re not too shabby of a sensei, are you?”

These brats. These complete and utter brats. They’re dead. No matter if he was slightly impressed with them, it’s not worth the utter ridiculousness of the situation.

Effortlessly, he moved forward and then kicked Satomi’s legs out from under her, punched Sasuke on the side to incapacitate him, then used the Headhunter jutsu on Naruto – who was holding his precious and rightfully deserved it. He grabbed the Icha Icha off from the grass where it had fallen out of Naruto’s – undeserving – hands and nonchalantly leaned against a tree as they collectively groaned and tried to set themselves to rights again by getting up and helping Naruto out of the hole he had dug himself into. 

He opened the book then said in a mild voice, “Since you have so much energy, why don’t you get started on your thirty laps around the grounds. Oh, and I’m sure you won’t mind me telling you to increase your weight amount by five pounds.” Glancing up slightly when he noticed they didn’t immediately jump to his bidding, “What are you wasting time for? We don’t want to be late for our Tora mission after all.”

Gleefully, as he watched his poor students run themselves into the ground, he admitted that they’d be praying for death by the time he was through with them. He had to confess that he was slightly beginning to like his students. Just a little. They weren’t complete idiots like other genin normally were.  


He didn’t completely regret taking on Team 7 now. 

‘What would you think of me now, Minato-sensei? Rin? Obito? Who would’ve thought I’d end up here…’

***

It was a usual peaceful Saturday afternoon for Sakura, as she walked through the market stalls to do her grocery shopping. Today the Corps had let off early, since they had a survival test coming up on Monday, so that they could rest or train as they saw fit. Sakura thought the extra time would be perfect to get some chores done as well as wind down. 

As she paused at a stall that was displaying fingerless gloves, she looked up for a moment to catch a blur of orange, followed closely by green then navy blue. She watched as Naruto stopped at a corner to lean against a building as he laughed loudly, fighting off tears. The figure in green, Satomi, also stopped next to Naruto and she was laughing just as hard. Then the figure in blue, Sasuke, stopped just a little behind the duo with a slight grin on his face as he shook his head at the two. 

What the hell. Was that really Sasuke grinning? That might as well be a laugh for someone like him! 

Without a thought, she rushed away from the stall and towards the trio, “Naruto? Satomi? Sasuke-kun? I-is something happening? Why are you running?”

Naruto bounced away from the building, his posture straightening as much as his stature allowed, and he turned on her with an face-splitting grin, “Sakura-chan! You wouldn’t believe what we just did!”

Sasuke’s smile had slipped off his face the moment he caught sight of her. He turned his face away and said snidely, “Dobe, admitting anything in an open place will incriminate us. Shut up for once, usuratonkachi.”

Naruto’s face went red as he rounded on Sasuke, “Teme! I didn’t say what we did! I just said Sakura-chan wouldn’t believe what we did! I’m not stupid, I didn’t incrimi-whatever!”

Satomi’s hand went up and she rested them on Naruto’s shoulder and, to Sakura’s surprise, Naruto immediately stilled and went quiet. Sasuke’s face turned back to gaze at his twin with an inscrutable look in his eyes. Satomi then smiled at her and said, “Hello, Sakura-san. How are you doing? We haven’t seen each other for a while now.”

“Ah, Satomi-san, I’m doing well… the Corps is difficult, but I think I’m getting stronger.”

Satomi beamed at her with a Naruto-esque grin that looked incredibly strange on her, “That’s great, Sakura-san! I’m happy for you! We’re all getting stronger and –”

Satomi broke off as the three of them simultaneously froze and their eyes widened. Naruto began to run off, Sasuke and Satomi right at his heels. Satomi glanced back for a moment to yell, “We’ll see you later, Sakura-san!” 

Sakura watched as the three of them scaled a building and began to run on the roofs and jump from building to building. She looked around and noticed a few others also curiously watching the three of them, all equally disturbed by the uncharacteristic behaviors they displayed. Then she turned around only to find a small pug with a navy vest with a strange symbol and a hitai-ate nearly run into her. The pug turned its head slightly and said, “Sorry, civilian-san,” and continued on its way, seemingly following the trio.

Civilian-san?

Sakura could only mutely watch until the four figures disappeared from view, thinking that no matter how much she’d grown, she still was nowhere enough to gain Sasuke’s acknowledgement. Or strong enough to let a talking dog know that she was a shinobi, not a civilian. She turned away from the markets and began walking off to the training grounds. There is no time to rest.

***

Naruto resisted the urge to laugh madly as the three of them continued running along the rooftops. Their prank on Kakashi-sensei had started off well; Kakashi-sensei had mistakenly thought that the prank simply was to steal his book off from him. No, no, Naruto wasn’t known as the Prank Master for nothing! 

With the wind streaming past due to their speed, Satomi had to yell to be heard, “Guys, I think it’d be better to mingle into the crowd and try to get Pakkun off our trail.”

Sasuke simply stated, “We need to hide our scent. That’s how he’s on our trail, even though we tried to lose him multiple times.”

Naruto nodded thoughtfully, “Alright, let’s get down onto the streets, henge ourselves to fit into the crowd, then separate. I’ll go to a training grounds and jump into a river, Sasuke can head into a bar, and Satomi should go into the Yamanaka flower shop. We’ll all meet up at my apartment.”

Naruto noticed the twins exchange glances with each other, doing that weird silent communication thing that they do all the time, before Satomi smiled at Naruto, “It’s amazing how you always come up with such good plans on a moment’s notice. That sounds good, let’s do it.”

Quickly, they jumped down to the ground, chakra softening the fall, and they immediately slowed their steps to a civilian’s pace and began to walk among the crowds of a busy Saturday afternoon. They lazily paused at stalls and talked quietly amongst themselves then, one by one, they each ducked into an alleyway and henged into nondescript civilians. 

A thin brown-haired girl with gray eyes skipped off towards the training grounds, softly singing a nursery rhyme to herself. If anyone were to observe, they would see the girl singing and skipping until she walked up towards a river at the edge of the grounds to begin skipping stones. She wandered too close to the edge before she fell in. She quickly got out on the other side then jumped into the trees quietly, on the way to the apartment. Hopefully that kept Pakkun off his trail for long enough for the others to get to the apartment to enact Phase Three of Revenge on Kakashi-Sensei.

Out of another alleyway, a red-haired boy with emerald eyes and a slightly large forehead came out. He then tripped and fell, before picking himself up with tears in his eyes. He wiped his face hastily and sniffled, looking to be on the verge of tears. He cried silently until his eyes noticed the flowers in the shop window at his side. His eyes lit up and he wandered inside, only to clumsily bump into a display and have the flowers and soil cover him completely. He began to cry again, harder, as one of the employees came out at the commotion. The employee immediately helped the boy up and the boy smiled tremulously and then simply ran out of the shop, crying for his kaa-san. He then ducked into an alley and began to quickly race towards Naruto’s apartment. It wouldn’t be long before Pakkun realized their plan and told Kakashi… after all, no one can just grab Kakashi’s book, replace multiple pages with pages from a book on the religion of Jashin, and expect to get away with it.

The bar patrons all looked up casually then looked gob-smacked as a tiny girl with pitch black hair and brown eyes walked into the bar. The girl gazed around with a vicious scowl on her face before walking towards the bartender, only to bump into a stumbling drunk who immediately spilled his beer on the girl. The girl stopped in shock before turning the full force of her glare on the poor drunk. The drunk would never admit it, but he soiled himself immediately at the sight. The girl sneered disdainfully then simply turned and walked out. The girl then began to walk a little faster than usual for a civilian towards Naruto’s apartment, knowing that they only had so much time before Kakashi-sensei found them, if he hadn’t already, to put the rest of the prank into place. If he didn’t love his sister so much, he swore he’d rip out of her puppy eyes for dragging him into this mess. 

Finally, the three met up in Naruto’s apartment and they all sat down on the floor by his bed, already used to the empty ramen cups scattered around and the general bareness of the room, besides the ramen poster and the picture of Team 7. Naruto maniacally grins and says, “We’re ready for Phase Three then! Now, remember –” 

“A ninja should never let down their guard. There is no safe place for a ninja, least of all in their own home.”

The three jumped slightly and Naruto had to stifle a yell as they turned to look at their furious sensei crouching on the window sill. 

Naruto nervously chuckled, “Ah, Kakashi-sensei, we can, we can explain! You see –”

Satomi jumped up and pleaded, “Kakashi-sensei! We do have a good explanation!”

Even Sasuke looked close to considering begging as he waited for whatever Kakashi was going to do. 

Kakashi silently stepped into the room and stopped before them, his hands in his pockets and lazily slouched. The only way they could tell he was furious was by the look in his eye. He titled his head slightly then said in a calm voice and with an eye-smile, “Let’s hear that explanation then!” 

Satomi burst out, “It was team-bonding exercise! We’ve been training hard and getting better individually. This ‘pranking’ exercise was a way to test how well our individual skills translated to working with each other.”

Kakashi looked at each of them silently, noting how Satomi had placed herself in the middle and slightly in front of both Sasuke and Naruto, ready to protect them at a moment’s notice, how Sasuke had his hands out of his pockets, one hand already ready to grab a kunai, and how Naruto had his fists clenched and his eyes were watching his every movement. 

Kakashi nodded then and said simply, “Your henge skills are beyond genin levels and you all have skill in infiltration. You all seamlessly created personas and roles for yourselves, though Sasuke didn’t reach beyond his normal personality, he still stayed in character. Your abilities to blend into the crowd and also your plan to hide your scent was also well done for genin. Beyond that, actually managing to grab my book off of me and also replace it with another copy of Icha Icha that was tampered with without me noticing is notable.” He paused then, taking in their still tense stances. They were smartly waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. He felt amusement and wanted to smile, but kept it out of his tone as he continued, “You all worked as a team. A team that knows each other’s strengths and also know to trust each other, which is more than I could have hoped considering you have only been a team for a little more than a month now.” He smiled then, his eye curving up and he turned to jump out the window, “I won’t kill you for this, because I am slightly proud to know you took my lessons to heart. You’ll still be punished, of course, but not killed.”

As Kakashi left, the three finally relaxed and let out a huge breath.

Naruto began to laugh, with a slight hysterical edge to it, “G-guess that prank was a success! Even if we never got to do the third phase!”

Satomi also laughed, her hands raising to rest on each of the boys’ shoulders, “Yes, the prank was a success. Though, for the sake of our lives, let’s maybe not do something like that for a while now.”

One corner of Sasuke’s lips twitched up as he relaxed and let his head fall back to look at the ceiling, “Imouto, if you ever use those eyes on me again…” He let the threat hang in the air.

Satomi shook her head and chuckled, then suggested they go out to eat barbeque as a small celebration. They were slowly growing and becoming better as a team. They would be prepared for whatever came in the future. 

No one was dying on her watch, least of all her Sasuke-nii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! So there's another chapter! The next chapter should be the mission. I've been carefully reading other fics to see what they do and what hasn't been done, so hopefully the mission will be unique. Whether that means it's the Wave mission or not... you'll see!
> 
> This is still a sort of transition chapter, but I didn't want to just jump from event to event without showing how they're all growing. I also wanted to show that Team 7 is better at working together... at least for now ;) 
> 
> Sakura is growing, which I actually like :D Though she still has a way to go and so she needs to see Team 7/Sasuke-kun to keep driving her, at least until she grows into herself!
> 
> I hope my first action scene (it's super short for a reason...) wasn't too cringey. I guess I need to watch some Naruto and figure out how I"m going to write the actual battle scenes...
> 
> THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS AND KUDOS! I hope I keep your interest :D Please let me know what you think! I'm open to constructive criticism and suggestions as always! :D :) <3 
> 
> Also, hope you found the prank humorous... I tried (;


	5. Omake #1: His Fangirl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An AU in which Uchiha Satomi was not so shy about making friends in the Academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Writing Muse struck and I had no choice but to write this little (okay, longer than expected) one-shot! It is an AU, but there are still 'canon' parts to the story, up until a certain point. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It was a widely held belief by the people of Konoha, civilians and shinobi alike, that the Uchiha matriarch had given birth to twins who were identical in all but gender. They all agreed that if it were not for the Uchiha matriarch’s – incredibly judicious – decision to ensure that the female of the duo had longer hair, no one would know which of the two were which… well, not without being accused of pedophilia, in any case, and that person wouldn’t live long enough to tell the tale. The twins were similar in facial structure, temperament, and, it was believed, personality. 

Uchiha Satomi was not ignorant of these beliefs. Nor was she pleased to come to know that she was not thought to be original enough to have her own face, taste, desires… personality! Just because she was quiet did not mean that she was just like her Sasuke-nii! 

Satomi simply found it difficult to speak easily to anyone who was not Sasuke-nii. She barely managed to overcome that difficulty for her aniki and her parents, and she simply had not put in the effort for anyone else. Not only that, no one could compare to Sasuke-nii. Sasuke-nii was hers and hers only.

She had to share otou-san with the Uchiha clan. She had to share okaa-san with otou-san. She had to share aniki with her parents and Sasuke-nii. Sasuke-nii was the only one she didn’t have to share anyone with… until Sasuke-nii turned two and suddenly Satomi was not enough. Sasuke-nii suddenly wanted to play all the time with aniki and otou-san wouldn’t stop talking about aniki and okaa-san kept reminding her to practice her katas because aniki could do this at her age and do that and…! 

So she found it easy to talk only to Sasuke-nii and demand his attention, because that already took more effort than she would like. She eventually talked to aniki because she wanted to see why Sasuke-nii, otou-san, and okaa-san liked him so much. She loved him and all and she liked when he gave her those piggyback rides, but she didn’t see what was so great about him. Sasuke-nii, on the other hand, is so cool and so strong and so nice and –

Anyways, Satomi found it easier to be quiet. 

However, as Itachi-nii smiled and gently pushed them towards the Academy doors after the opening ceremony, as Sasuke-nii grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd and into their classroom, Satomi realized that in their class, no one knew aniki. So Sasuke-nii was all hers! 

She brilliantly smiled at Sasuke-nii, ignored his bemused smile back, and turned around to pay attention to the teacher at the front. He seemed to be saying important things and the Academy didn’t seem so bad anymore. She might even like it here!

She did not like it here.

Any delusions she had that Sasuke-nii would be hers alone vanished at lunch time. One moment her and Sasuke-nii were sitting underneath a tree eating from the bentos their okaa-san had packed, the next moment Sasuke-nii was surrounded by little girls offering him food and asking a million questions about whether he liked long or short hair or whether he would like to go and eat sometime or whether he –

Yes, Satomi did not like it here at all. 

Sure, Sasuke-nii got a terrified look in his eyes as he impassively replied to the horde of girls that he was eating with his imouto and that they should leave him alone, but, even as they all dispersed, she could still feel their eyes on her Sasuke-nii. She did not have all of Sasuke-nii’s attention and she didn’t like it. 

In a different world, perhaps, Satomi would have simply smiled at Sasuke-nii and grabbed his hand to go and find a different place to eat – like perhaps the school rooftop or the classroom – and she would have contented herself with realizing that Sasuke-nii was not hers and that she will have to share him at times, but she still was his twin and no one else could claim to know him as well as she did. That Satomi would have created a new type of relationship with Sasuke-nii and they would have only grown closer than ever. That Satomi would have matured and grown into the type of grace that all Uchiha women were known for. That Satomi was the perfectly shy, perfectly well-behaved Uchiha female, until a certain circumstance changed her life forever.

In this world, though, Satomi felt anger rise up in her at the thought that even here she did not have someone she did not have to share! With anger flaring up in her and growing stronger by the second, Satomi furiously ate her rice and glared at the intruders and began to plot on how she could remedy this situation. 

As she went back to class and tried to pay attention, she kept getting distracted by thinking of the group of girls who had ruined her happiness. They seemed to… well, they seemed to treat Sasuke-nii differently from how all their girl cousins and aunts treated him. They all wanted to go and eat with him alone and kept saying how cool he was and… well, it was pretty undignified, and not at all befitting an Uchiha, how they had ambushed her brother. After class, she heard one of the senseis mutter to another how ‘this class of girls seemed to have become fangirls sooner than other classes,’ and that was when she realized that that was what those girls were.

Fangirls.

She continued to observe, day after day, how the girls sat around during class breaks, lunch, and even during taijutsu practice to talk about how strong, cool, and amazing Sasuke-nii was. She observed how their faces went red around him, how they all kept asking for a date with him alone, and, finally, how they fought over him with each other to see whose Sasuke-nii was.

That was when the Brilliant Idea came to her. 

Those… fangirls… they were fighting and competing for who kept Sasuke-nii! They were deciding which one Sasuke-nii liked best and which one of them got to keep Sasuke-nii! 

With that realization, Satomi also realized she had two choices.

She could, one, fight all those girls and show her just whose Sasuke-nii was. That idea had merit and she began to plot on just how she would do that, because the other choice was to pick someone else to be hers, like those fangirls did. That choice was simply impossible because no one could possibly catch her attention like –

“I’m Uzumaki Naruto and I’m going to be Hokage, dattebayo!”

Satomi glanced up from her bento to look where that announcement came from, only to find her eyes on the loudest person she had ever seen or heard. His clothes were loud, his hair, his eyes, his voice! He was everything Satomi wasn’t and suddenly she found herself fascinated.

She kept watching as some boy stepped forward menacingly to the loud boy and the loud boy leapt forward to punch the kid in the face. She saw, then, how a scowling sensei came out to place the loud boy – Uzumaki Naruto? – into detention. Later on, in class, she saw the loud boy laugh as he spat a spitball at the back of Nara-san’s head and how he kept his smile even after having a piece of chalk hit him on his head, hard. 

She couldn’t tear her eyes off of him and she took in his bright orange jumpsuit, his bright blue eyes, his shiny blonde hair… and, suddenly, choice two had a lot more merit than she previously thought. 

For days afterwards, she kept watching the loud boy – Naruto-kun – and she found it easier to ignore the squeals of the fangirls, and it became less painful how Sasuke-nii was not completely hers.

She still loved her Sasuke-nii with all her heart and she treasured every bit of his attention she got, but she had someone she wanted to put in the effort to get to know, to befriend… to make hers.

And when Uchiha Satomi decides to put in effort for something, that thing will happen, it was basically one of Newton’s Laws. 

Satomi began to analyze Naruto-kun, taking in when he smiled and laughed, when he got bored and played a prank, when he slept in class, when he picked a fight, when he looked embarrassed. She took in the way he always announced his name and his dream of becoming Hokage – to be acknowledged! She desperately wanted to tell him she acknowledged him, but she hadn’t planned it all out… yet – and how he always smiled. She took in his clumsy movements during taijutsu practice, the way he struggled with the leaf exercise, the way he got so angry at Sasuke-nii for making everything seem so easy and for making fun of him. But, most of all, she took in how, even though he seemed so loud and annoying to most people, and how he had the lowest grades in every aspect of class… he still kept that smile on his face, got back up, and tried again.

Satomi, to her great delight, had found someone worthy of her effort, her attention, her acknowledgement… and he wasn’t anyone else’s! 

No one else was his friend, besides Nara-san, Akimichi-san, and Inuzuka-san, but they only hung out with him to ditch class. No one else seemed to notice Naruto-kun like Satomi did. Best of all, he had no fangirls!

Satomi, once she was done analyzing, decided on her plan: she would become Naruto-kun’s fangirl and give him the one thing he asked for – acknowledgement.

He definitely deserved it, as far as Satomi’s observations and analysis had concluded.

Thus began Satomi’s Operation: Fangirl for Naruto-kun. 

She decided to put the plan into action the very next day, so, that night, she prepared a special bento with heart-shaped onigiri and other heart-shaped food. She lamented the fact that she didn’t know how to make ramen – yet! – so she hoped the food she did know how to make would still please dear Naruto-kun.

She was a fangirl on a mission, after all, and her sole purpose in life – beyond becoming a kick-ass shinobi and showing otou-san and okaa-san and the whole clan just how amazing she is and making Sasuke-nii proud – was to gain Naruto-kun’s attention and make him solely hers.

She would not fail in this mission. 

The next morning, she was fairly vibrating with excitement in her seat, waiting for Naruto-kun to show up. She very pointedly ignored Sasuke-nii’s attempts to catch her eye and ask her what she was doing. Finally, soon-to-be-her ball of loud sunshine walked through the door. 

As he went to his seat with a grin, she jumped up – which was an unusual event in and of itself, noted one Nara as he lowered his head to the desk for his early-morning nap – and she placed herself in Naruto-kun’s path. Naruto stopped and his smile froze on his face before it melted into adorable confusion, “Ah, Satomi? You’re in my way…”

Satomi’s face went from impassive to a face-splitting grin at the sound of his voice, “Naruto-kun! Could I sit by you today?”

The whole classroom went dead silent. That was the first day, since the year had started, that Iruka-sensei walked into a room that did not contain screaming children.

Uchiha Sasuke started choking on air, unable to contain his blank face as his eyes widened and his face went red. He couldn’t even comprehend what was happening. His… his imouto didn’t want to sit with him?? His imouto wanted to sit with that-that dobe!? He suddenly found it hard to breathe as he kept his eyes on his little imouto and tried to figure out what was happening.

Nara Shikamaru sat up from his lazy slouch on his desk, his brain immediately racing to figure out just what was happening. While he may be lazy, he was still a genius, and he had thought he had puzzled out all his classmates already. This was entirely unexpected and that meant the Nara could not nap peacefully until he had figured out just what was happening and what would happen. Troublesome women. 

Akimichi Chouji paused mid-bite. Inuzuka Kiba froze mid-petting session with Akamaru, who had tilted his head adorably in confusion. Aburame Shino’s eyebrows raised in mild surprise, though no one noticed, much to his slight annoyance. 

Yamanaka Ino’s mouth dropped open in shock, as did Haruno Sakura’s. They couldn’t comprehend this development. Was Satomi-san… fangirling over that baka?? 

Hyuuga Hinata’s face went red and she desperately wished that she had the courage to protest Satomi-san acting so… fangirl-like with Naruto-kun. She wanted to fangirl over Naruto-kun, and… it just wasn’t fair. Her face went redder as she was mortified at her unkind thoughts and feelings towards Satomi-san. It wasn’t Satomi-san’s fault that Hinata was so shy and jealous. It wasn’t… but it was hard to think kindly of Satomi-san at the moment. 

All the other students’ mouths had dropped in shock, as well, and their brains had frozen at this scene. They were already trying to deny just what was happening right in front of them. Uchiha-san was most definitely not grinning at the class’ dead-last, nor was she waiting for permission to sit with him. It wasn’t happening. 

Uzumaki Naruto’s face went red after he finally figured out what Satomi was saying. She-she wanted to sit with him? He didn’t even pause to figure out why before replying with a grin, “Sure, Satomi-chan! I usually sit over here…” and he led her to his seat just as Iruka-sensei called the class to attention.

Satomi couldn’t keep the smile off her face as the lessons began. She was sitting next to Naruto-kun. She was the person he directed that glorious grin to. She was already gaining a little bit of his attention! 

The rest of the morning progressed quite abnormally for the whole class. No one could get over the fact that Uchiha-san stayed glued by Naruto’s side, that she kept looking at him throughout the lesson and got distracted enough for Iruka-sensei to call her out, that she seemed to think his spitballs were amusing, that she was whispering prank ideas and plotting with him, that she was not being her normal good student self. 

For Naruto, this was the best morning ever. Satomi-chan was brilliant with all her prank ideas and, best of all, she didn’t seem to think he was annoying at all! He wasn’t really sure what that look in her eyes was, or why she kept smiling weirdly at him, or even why her face went kind of pink when he grabbed her hand in excitement or bumped her slightly when he jumped or moved around in his seat, but Naruto could most definitely see how Satomi-chan seemed to like him!

When Iruka-sensei dismissed them for lunch, Satomi, without a hint of hesitation or a glance towards her stupefied twin, grabbed Naruto-kun’s hand and dragged him to a corner of the playground that was normally unoccupied so that they would be sufficiently alone for the next part of her plan. 

She smiled at Naruto-kun – and wasn’t that sort of amazing? She hadn’t thought it was possible to smile so much! – and said, while offering the bento, “I prepared this for you, Naruto-kun. I hope you like it!” 

Naruto-kun’s eyes widened and she lost herself in his beautifully blue eyes for a moment before coming back to herself as he exclaimed, “Whoa, Satomi-chan! You made all this for me?”

She grinned at his cutely stunned face and vowed to always make a bento for him as she replied, “Of course, Naruto-kun. I was more than happy to make it for you! I also promise to make ramen for you, once I learn how to!”

Naruto could’ve sworn his heart stopped and he knew he stopped breathing as he stared at Satomi-chan in shock. Somehow, he stuttered out, “Y-you’d learn to make ramen f-for m-me?”

Satomi’s grin grew wider – impossibly wide. Was it possible to break your face from smiling so much? – as she finally broke apart her chopsticks and opened her bento, “Anything for you, Naruto-kun!”

Naruto shook his head and pinched himself – hard – before quietly asking, “Why?”

Satomi tilted her head slightly, in confusion, “Why what, Naruto-kun?”

Naruto cleared his throat and he looked down at the bento on his lap, “Why would you learn to make ramen for me? Why did you ask to sit next to me this morning? Why are you even being so nice to me? Why?”

Satomi took a deep breath, surprised at how quickly Naruto grew suspicious and how her plan had already gone FUBAR. She took in another breath, told herself that Naruto-kun was more than worth the effort, reminded herself that the only way now was to go up, and replied, “Because I want to be your fangirl, Naruto-kun.”

The Sasuke fangirls who had been – kind of – covertly listening into the conversation all gasped in shock and fell to the ground. The world, as they knew it, was ending.

Nara Shikamaru nodded from his own covert position, unsurprised at this development now, and laid down to cloud-watch. What a drag.

Uchiha Sasuke, from his position in the tree nearby, felt his mouth pop open in shock before his Protective Older Brother Instincts kicked in and he began to plot all the ways to do away with Naruto without being suspected. His father was the Head of Police; he knew how to get away with murder.

Naruto was sure his heart had stopped this time and he knew he wasn’t breathing. Gasping for air, he tried to figure out if what he heard was what he heard and that he wasn’t in a gen-thingy that Iruka-sensei had been talking about last class. Finally, he croaked out, “M-my fangirl?”

Satomi smiled again and nodded steadily, “Yes, Naruto-kun, I wish to be your fangirl.”

“B-but why?!”

Calmly, after swallowing a bite of food and idly wishing that the conversation would be over with already so Naruto-kun could taste her cooking, she replied, “Because you are so amazing, Naruto-kun!” Her calmness gave way to excitement as she gave into her inner-fangirl, “The way you always smile, the way you never give up, and your pranks are so brilliant! Not to mention, the way your eyes are so blue and your hair like sunshine personified and you’re so strong and so nice and you always defend people and that’s why you get into so many fights and! You’re just so amazing, Naruto-kun!” She grinned at Naruto-kun’s tomato red face, “I’d be honored to be your fangirl, Naruto-kun!” 

Naruto, face still incredibly red, dazedly nodded and said, “T-that sounds good, Satomi-chan…”

Satomi grinned, then, in a fit of impulsiveness very uncommon for her Uchiha self, placed her finished bento down on the ground, grabbed Naruto’s and also placed it on the ground next to hers, then launched herself into Naruto-kun’s arms for a hug and enjoyed the warm feeling she got as his arms came around her reflexively. 

Naruto-kun was now hers and she was never going to share him with anyone. He had agreed, after all.

***

Years passed and all of Sasuke’s plans to murder that dobe failed through some infernal luck. Somehow, some way, that dead-last evaded every single attempt, without even realizing it! So, there he stood, his imouto’s hand in the crook of his elbow as he walked her down the aisle to an idiotically grinning dobe who couldn’t take his eyes off of his imouto. Grumbling as he paused in the act of handing her off to the idiot, he glared mutinously and said, “If you ever hurt her in any way, usuratonkachi, and you’ll be dead by ramen before you can blink.” He took pleasure in the way the blond dobe paled as he placed his imouto’s hand in his. 

A few more years passed and Naruto became the Nanadaime Hokage and, as he gave his first speech as Hokage to the gathered crowd, his eyes slid to his beautiful wife’s beaming face. She looked up at him, her ebony eyes twinkling and her rosy lips parted in a gorgeous grin, and he couldn’t help but think of how she had never once doubted that he would be up here, the hat on his head. She had been his personal cheerleader since they were six years old and she had never once relented in her belief in him. He felt truly happy and he knew it wouldn’t have been possible without her at his side… he would not be standing there waving excitedly at the people of Konoha like this without his fangirl. 

A few months after Naruto-kun’s appointment as Hokage, Namikaze-Uzumaki Uchiha Satomi found her face dripping with sweat and her hair falling around her face unattractively, but she was grinning as she looked upon her gorgeous husband fawning over their absolute masterpiece of a child. 

Yes, one could say that Operation: Fangirl for Naruto-kun had been a resounding success and definitely worth every bit of effort put into it. As she gazed into Naruto-kun’s azure eyes and her heart warmed even more, she knew that, just as much as he was hers, she was more so his and the adorable man didn’t even realize how much he absolutely owned her body, heart, and soul. He was hers first, but she was his from then on, always, and forevermore. 

It was a universally known fact that the Namikaze-Uzumaki matriarch had, once upon a time, been the fangirl of the Nanadaime Hokage. It was so well-known that it was included in her biography in the history textbooks taught at the Academy and other prospective fangirls’ hearts yearned to succeed in their fangirl dreams as successfully as their idol had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you found the one-shot pleasingly cute. It was really fun to write :D Also, I figured since the pairing was confirmed and also declared a slow-burn... you could get some NaruSato fluffiness ;) 
> 
> I'm having some difficulty writing the actual next chapter of the story, so it might be delayed. This should hopefully tide you over until then! Ja ne! :D 
> 
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you like these kind of things or if you have an idea for a future omake you'd like me to write! I'd be more than happy to (: I already have an idea for another one ;)


	6. Nightmares and Artisans: The Curse of the C-Rank

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thus begins the first C-rank of our Team 7!

Weeks, perhaps even months, after the Massacre, the twins could be found sleeping in the same bed, occasionally waking up when either one of them began stirring from a nightmare, to comfort each other. As the years passed, the nightmares became less frequent, though they never completely left. Satomi always felt strange about her nightmares because she wasn’t put through Tsukuyomi like Sasuke. She got off easy, comparatively. 

While Itachi-nii had been brainwashing Sasuke, Satomi had been placed in a genjutsu-induced ‘sleep’… her punishment for rushing home immediately after classes while Sasuke went to train. The genjutsu wasn’t even mentally scarring, at least from what snatches she could remember. Really, her nightmares consisted of waking up not knowing who she was or remembering her death from Before. It wasn’t even clear what was happening in her nightmares; it was just the strength and clarity of her feelings that made them nightmares. 

So she always felt strange when Sasuke would comfort her after a nightmare. She didn’t feel like she deserved it, not when Sasuke had it so much worse than her. That was why she couldn’t find it in her to talk about Itachi or about Sasuke’s desire to kill him. She might know why Itachi had done what he had done… that still didn’t make what he did right. It was the lesser of two evils; one choice led to civil war, the loss of many lives and the destruction of Konoha. The other choice simply caused incredible mental trauma on two children, which led one to be obsessed with avenging and the other with memories of a life she should never have remembered. 

Of course Itachi had chosen to sacrifice – or, save, as he justified it – his two younger siblings while murdering the other members of the Clan and his own parents. Of course Itachi thought it would be okay if Sasuke was the one to end his guilt-ridden existence. Of course Itachi thought what he did was right. Or something.

She didn’t know the mind of her older genius brother. If one could even call him that. She definitely didn’t know the mind of a guilt-ridden murderer, for sure.

But she did know the mind of her older hurting brother. 

That was the brother whose room she stole into in the middle of the night, whose bed she immediately crawled into, whose shaking body she gathered, whose tears she wiped. That was the brother who she whispered comforting words to, who she made tomato soup for in the middle of the night, who she sat by without a word until he told her to sleep. 

She might understand Itachi’s motives, and she might still love him. She could admit that to herself, along with admitting that she desperately missed her mom and sometimes even her dad, who had completely ignored her existence. Being so young around the time of the planning of the coup d’état, she didn’t really understand what was going on, but she also missed her other Uchiha relatives, especially Shisui-nii. She also liked to think that if Obito hadn’t been taken by Madara, she would miss and love him too. 

Yet, when she had to look at Sasuke’s pain-stricken face, his clenched hands, and his painfully determined eyes… she couldn’t help but hate Itachi and the whole Uchiha clan. Sasuke didn’t deserve this pain. No one deserved this pain and she hated that she couldn’t understand exactly what Sasuke went through. They knew each other intimately, knew each other’s thoughts and feelings, everything… but she didn’t know that experience, just as he didn’t know about her Before-Past. 

The least she could do then, on those now rare nights, was offer the comfort of her presence and promise to never leave like That Man. 

***

“Yo!”

“You’re late, Kaka-sensei!”

Not even managing to muster the energy for a sigh, Satomi half-heartedly glared at Kakashi, “You actually broke your record… we waited for five hours! We completed our warm-ups, our laps, and our chakra control exercises! We were about to start our sparring!”

Sasuke grunted in agreement, his lips curled in a sneer and his arms crossed. 

Even as Kakashi said his excuse – “Well, I was actually about to be on time but then this crazy snake lady saw me and began to chase me, all while throwing dango skewers at me” – he took in the dark shadows under the eyes of both Satomi and Sasuke and knew he couldn’t let today’s training session end without talking to the two… fantastic. Talking to two traumatized pre-teens about their mental state was definitely a job that one should entrust to an emotionally stunted ex-ANBU. 

After their short training session and after he dismissed Naruto’s invitation for a team dinner with a steely look, he held back the twins, then expectantly looked at them, his hands in his pockets as he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them without a book to hide behind. “Sasuke, Satomi… are you alright?” 

He resisted the urge to face-palm at his own ridiculous question. He really shouldn’t be the one doing this.

Satomi sighed and looked up from where she was sitting on the ground, leaning against Sasuke’s shoulder, “Kakashi-sensei, we’re fine. You really don’t need to do this.”

Well, as much as he’d like to walk off right then and there, even he knew that that was the exact opposite of what he should do.

He looked away from them and towards the sky, before slightly sighing under his breath and saying, “I’m not the best person at talking about problems, and I’m still… working through my own issues. But, because I do know how I should’ve handled my problems when they first came, and because I know people who never handled their problems and turned out even worse… I can tell you that it’s never good to keep things in and not talk about it.” He inhaled deeply and glanced up at the sky before continuing, “I may not have had the exact experience you two have had… but, I’ve experienced losing everyone I care about and, sometimes, the only thing that keeps me going are the new comrades I’ve made.” 

Eye-smiling, he tilted his head down towards them, “It might not be the same, but I understand. You two have each other and that’s good, but it’s also good to remember that there are others who are here for you to help you through this. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s never good to hold it in and dwell on it.” 

He ignored the complete hypocrisy of the bullshit he was spewing and hoped what he was saying got through to them. After all, he just spilled his guts to them, more than he had done for most of his friends and comrades, even Gai!

Caring about people really was a drag sometimes. 

Satomi let out a shaky breath and said softly, “Thank you, Kakashi-sensei… we-we’ll think about it.”

He nodded and smiled again, then Shunshin’d out of there and headed off to a tree to bury himself in Usagi-chan’s life. He wished all he had to deal with were sex-crazed men and women or highly implausible adventures. 

At least he did something for them. It was better than nothing. Hopefully. 

***

On the day marking their three-month anniversary since becoming officially Team 7, the team could be found getting into position to capture one hell-cat. After successfully cornering the cat and getting mauled – ahem, scratched to death –in the process, the team walked into the Missions office to see the Hokage at the desk and Iruka-sensei on another desk to the side. Satomi immediately felt like there was something significant about this set-up, this day, but she wasn’t sure so she stayed quiet as she watched the Daimyo’s wife smother the screeching cat. She allowed herself to smirk as she felt no remorse after nearly having her eye gouged by that stupid cat. 

Once the client paid and left, the Hokage cleared his throat, his eyes kindly looking over the three, and said, “Well, since you finished that mission relatively quickly, you can choose from either babysitting, cleaning out a river, or –”

“Old man! I’m tired of all these missions! I demand a real mission for real ninjas!”

Iruka-sensei immediately stood up and shouted at Naruto about respecting the Hokage and how they were genin and they were only supposed to get D-ranked missions.

Ignoring the sense of déjà vu and the feeling that she was forgetting something important, Satomi spoke up before the Hokage could, “Actually, genin are technically qualified to go on C-ranked missions as well, after completing the required amount of D-ranked missions.” She smiled innocently at Iruka, “This mission marks our thirteenth D-rank mission, and the minimum required for a C-rank is ten.” She was enough of an Uchiha to smirk at Iruka’s nonplussed face, since, all throughout Academy, he knew her as a shy girl who was just braver than Hinata because she didn’t faint at random points of the day. 

Kakashi’s hand comes to rest on the top of her head as he said, “Maa, my cute genin are right. If there are any left, I’d like to request a C-rank for my team, Hokage-sama.” 

The Hokage cleared his throat and said, “Hm, well we had an escort mission available to the Land of Waves but the rank unexpectedly rose after receiving some new intel, so all I have is another escort mission to the Land of Rivers.”

“We’ll take it.”

Naruto cheered loudly as Kakashi gathered the mission scroll until Kakashi smacked the back of his head to get him to calm down. They left the office soon after and then separated to pack for the mission so they could meet up at the gate in an hour. Before separating, Satomi called out to Naruto, “Naruto, do you know how to pack for the mission? It might just be a C-rank, but you should make sure to make pack extra clothes, emergency rations other than instant ramen, a sleeping bag, and extra supplies. You never know what could happen after all.” 

Naruto looked back sheepishly, but he grinned and replied, “Satomi-chan, you’re always so nice to me. Yeah, I’ll be sure to pack like you said! Okay, now I’m off!” 

As Satomi packed her bag with the necessities, she wondered why exactly the Wave mission was re-ranked and they ended up with a mission to the Land of Rivers instead. She wasn’t completely upset about the turn of events, but she also felt… strange. She wasn’t sure what to expect from the mission at all. However, she also wasn’t sure how she would handle seeing her brother in a state of death. Perhaps it was better that they didn’t get the Wave mission after all. 

It’s not like Team 7 is doomed to misranked missions every time, in every version of the universe. That’s just ridiculous. 

***

Sasuke gathers his pack and carefully places it on his back, then checks that his weapon holster is in place before taking a deep breath and walking out of his room to wait for his sister. He didn’t wait long before Satomi calmly walked into their living room/kitchen/common area and flashes him a huge grin before saying, “Nii-san! Are you as excited as I am? Well, I’m not completely excited, I’m also really worried! But we’ve never been outside of the village and it’ll be pretty cool, you know?”

Sasuke allowed himself to smile back as he lightly pushed her head back, “Calm down. I’m excited too.” 

She rolled her eyes, then said, grin still firmly in place, “Sasuke-nii, I’m really proud of you, you know?”

His face went pink and he immediately looked down at the floor, desperately glad that Satomi refrained from making such comments in public, “…Shut up, imouto. I’m proud of you too, now let’s go before we’re later than Kakashi-sensei.” 

She laughed then grabbed his hand to pull them out of their apartment and towards the main gates of the village. 

From the corner of his eyes, he took in Satomi, his twin, his younger sister, his only relative, his partner in everything. He took in the way her dark brown hair resembled their mother’s, the way it framed her face and hung down to just above her shoulders in a low ponytail, but the color was all their father. The way her eyes were the typical Uchiha black, but also held a sort of gentle and innocent joy that he never wanted to see disappear. Though he wondered often how she could have such joy when… when That Man had taken almost all of his. 

These days, any joy that he felt came from Satomi’s presence alone. He knew that he was the older brother, the one who had to protect her and keep her safe. He was the older brother and he would not be like That Man who failed at being the brother he should have been. That Man didn’t deserve the title of brother, in any case. 

He pushed that train of thought out of his mind as he continued to think about Satomi. He knew his sister avoided talking about the Massacre out of some misplaced guilt for him. He knew that she felt guilty for him having to face That Man alone, while she was sleeping, genjutsu or not. He knew how she had nightmares sometimes about forgetting who she was, which terrified him. It terrified him to think that one day she could actually wake up and forget who she was… and him. He doesn’t like to think of that time in the hospital when she actually had forgotten him. That time left him queasy and gave him pains in his chest, whenever he let his thoughts stray there.

He hates that she has nightmares at all, and even more that she always knows when he has nightmares. He hates how she always comes to comfort him when he’s the older one, the one who’s supposed to protect her. He hates how there are shadows under her eyes from staying up for him. He hates it.

So he welcomes the prospect of a mission outside of the village and welcomes – just slightly, and he would never admit it, in any case – Naruto’s loud voice as he eagerly talks about how excited he is to leave the village for the first time. Because seeing Satomi smile so sincerely eases the pain in his chest and he finds it easy to breathe again. He even welcomes Kakashi’s lazy presence, because he actually cares about them, even if he doesn’t show it as easily as Naruto does. He cares enough to try to share something deeply personal with them and… he’s not sure what to think about that. But he welcomes the idea of caring and being cared for. He hasn’t had anyone besides Satomi care and it has never mattered before to him. 

He likes the idea of caring for Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, along with Satomi. No one could ever matter as much as Satomi, but maybe there’s enough room in his shriveled heart for more people to care for. If only because Satomi seems to thrive with more people around and he knows that she wouldn’t dare let herself care for them unless he cares too. Satomi’s always stayed by his side and always stays with him. 

As he rolls his eyes and grunts at Naruto for being such an idiot and moves away from Kakashi’s hand landing on top of his head, he decides that, as Satomi’s nii-san, it is his duty to provide for Satomi. And Satomi needs more people, he knows that. So he’ll let Team 7 in, if only so Satomi can be happy.

Because Satomi should always smile and always stay his gentle, innocent imouto. 

***

The mission begins rather calmly. The four of them gather at the main gates and wait for their clients to show up. Finally, a group of three men leading a cart show up at the gates. One of the men steps forward, presumably the leader, and offers a nod towards Kakashi as he asks if they’ll be the ones who’ll be escorting them. As Kakashi takes care of the details, Satomi observes the men, taking in how they all have light brown hair and dark eyes and assumes they must be family due to the similarities. The leader is the tallest of them, the other two appear to be in their early twenties’ or late teens. They warily glance between their leader and Team 7, and their twitchiness makes her nervousness rise again before Kakashi calls back her attention.

“Yes, we are Team 7 and we’ll be escorting you to Takumi village in the Land of Rivers. If those are all the details, we can head out.”

They immediately all get into position as they walk through the gates after the chuunin on guard duty wave them by. Kakashi stayed in the back, behind the cart, with Naruto to the right of the cart and Sasuke to the left, while Satomi went towards the front. The beginning of the trip was relatively peaceful, the silence broken by Naruto’s cheery voice as he talked to the welding brothers. The leader, Hitoshi-san, and his two brothers, Jirou-san and Iwao-san, were all heading towards Takumi village in order to set up shop and hopefully expand their business there, since the village is known for artisans. They were all generally nice, though they seemed unusually tense for civilians, since shinobi are the ones known for being paranoid. They definitely had no problem with Naruto talking non-stop at least, which helped break the monotony of traveling at a civilian’s pace. 

As night began to fall, they broke for camp. Kakashi ordered Naruto to gather the firewood, Sasuke to set up traps, and Satomi to begin preparing dinner while Kakashi ensured that the area was safe and began to set up the tents. Their clients also went about their routine for the road and they all descended into the silence of busywork. Once they began to eat the stew (made of dried venison and the few vegetables that she had thought to pack, along with spices), Satomi decided to ask, “Kakashi-sensei, are missions often misranked?”

Kakashi glanced up from his book and casually sat up slightly before slipping into lecture mode, “Hm, well, C-ranks are often the most misranked. D-rank missions consist of missions that are in-village and, often, low in danger as opposed to the higher ranks, like bodyguard duty. B-rank missions tend to be missions like assassinations or spying, where you are expected to face enemy ninja. A-rank missions tend to be guarding VIPs or suppressing ninja forces. Because B- and A rank missions are more specific, and D-rank are more like odd jobs, anything that does not fall into a B- or A- category tends to be ranked as a C-. Since so many missions fall under the C-rank category, mistakes can be made, where intel is wrong or there weren’t enough details and that can cause a mission to be misranked. C-ranks simply happen to be the most often misranked, because there’s a large margin for error.”

Satomi nodded and worriedly bit her lip, the nervousness she felt earlier coming back tenfold, “Thank you, Kakashi-sensei, that was very… informative.” 

Kakashi simply nodded before returning back to his book.

 

Satomi sat quietly as Sasuke and Naruto came back and they all ate. She couldn’t help but think of the Land of Waves mission and how the previous Team 7s, including the one that should have happened, all had such terrible luck with missions. She didn’t have a good feeling about this mission at all and all she could do was hope that she was simply worrying over nothing.

***

The next morning began quite normally. They all packed up and set out again, though their clients seemed to be growing more nervous as they got closer to the Land of Rivers border. Satomi kept up her guard and made sure to look around periodically, wishing she was a sensor so she could tell if anyone suspicious was heading their way. So the morning passed by in this manner, with the whole group tense, but all for different reasons. 

After they broke for lunch, they continued on, but even Naruto’s attempts at conversation did nothing for Satomi, who was growing more paranoid by the second. Then, on the path, they passed a river and Satomi wasn’t sure if she was imagining the feeling of someone watching, but she turned to Kakashi to say, “Kakashi-sensei, is there a chance for a storm today?”

With a raised brow, Kakashi looked up and slightly nodded, “Hm, perhaps.”

She immediately nodded and said to Naruto and Sasuke, “Well, be on your guard then, we wouldn’t want us to be caught in a bad storm.”

Naruto adjusted his stance from walking with his hands behind his head to one where he had his arms at his side, but he continued trying to draw their clients into friendly conversation.

Sasuke simply muttered a ‘hn,’ but he also slightly adjusted his stance to a more prepared one.

As much as she had hoped she was simply being paranoid, all her suspicions proved to be right as a kunai was thrown directly towards their group and bandits burst out from the sides of the road. Satomi immediately ran towards their clients and set herself up to protect them as Sasuke jumped forward and kicked the closest bandit towards him and attacked with taijutsu. Naruto froze for a moment but, seeing Sasuke jumping into action, he snapped out of it and attacked another bandit closer to him with a kunai to deflect the bandit’s own kunai. 

Kakashi took out the remaining bandit with a well-placed hit on the neck, but then he sensed another bandit heading up behind him and he turned around only to use Kawarimi as a Katon jutsu was fired at him. He cursed under his breath as he took out the enemy ninja disguised as a bandit with the Headhunter jutsu and knocked him out. He turned around and evaluated the leftover bandits that Sasuke and Naruto had readily taken out. 

He eye-smiled at the pair and said, “Good job, you two, you took them out and did your job well, though Naruto did freeze a little.” He turned towards their clients and said seriously, “Looks like the bandits were actually disguised enemy ninja, which raises this mission to a B-rank.”

Hitoshi shook his head, eyes wide, and said, “A-ah, Shinobi-san… you did well protecting us, but the girl? S-she disappeared.”

Kakashi straightened and immediately scoured the area for Satomi’s chakra signature, silently cursing himself for forgetting about his female student, and cursed out loud when he couldn’t find a trace, “What exactly happened?”

Naruto looked about as he too realized that Satomi was missing, “Kakashi-sensei! Satomi-chan, she isn’t here!”

Jirou cleared his throat and said softly, “She was protecting us, but then, while all three of you were fighting the bandits, er, ninjas, another ninja came up, but he had a headband and didn’t look like a bandit like the rest. She had her back to him and… he grabbed her and-and took her out… I only saw her fall and the man with the headband grab her before they disappeared…”

Naruto shouted out, “Satomi-chan was taken by an enemy ninja?!”

With those words, Sasuke felt his whole world disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for my tenses... I sometimes switch from past/present tense and I can't catch them all. If anyone would like to beta for me, that'd be super awesome :D
> 
> In any case, I hope there was some notable character development and I apologize if my fight scene was sub-par... I'm not really sure how to write them well and, well, yeah... hope that wasn't too disappointing!
> 
> Does this qualify as a cliffhanger? ;) :3 *cue evil laugh* 
> 
> Don't worry, I'm not so evil that I'll leave y'all hanging for too long! I already have an idea of how I want the rest of the mission to pan out, just need to write it all out! Expect the next chapter within the week!
> 
> Thank you for the comments, kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions! <3 Y'all are awesome and I hope I keep your interest as we go on! 
> 
> Also, hope the mission was interesting! I tried to be unique :D Lemme know if I succeeded or if you have suggestions! :) :D
> 
> Btw, Usagi-chan is a reference to Sailor Moon... hehe XD since I mentioned it twice now!
> 
> Good news: it's been a month, exactly, since I first published this! I feel pretty accomplished tbh :D I didn't think it'd carry out this far... I'm determined to finish! :D :)


	7. The Thunder of a Thousand Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mission Start: Retrieval of Uchiha Satomi!

It was like the words weren’t quite connecting in his head.  He was glancing about, but he couldn’t say, for the life of him, what he was looking at or for.  He kept listening to them, but all that was echoing in his head was Naruto saying his imouto had been taken by an enemy ninja.  He couldn’t quite breathe as he thought about his little sister, the last of his family, taken from him, just like that!  He hadn’t even been watching her! 

           

Suddenly, he began to remember that one lesson from the Academy, about how it’d be better to die than to land into the hands of the enemy.  If captured, a shinobi would be tortured for information then killed, but a kunoichi could be raped, tortured, and then killed. 

 

He found it harder to breathe, thinking about his sister in such a situation, and he lost control of his thoughts as they kept focusing on the words torture, captured, raped, imouto… gone.

 

He felt a sudden sharp pain on his right cheek and his eyes focused only to find them looking into a single gray eye, “Sasuke!  As your captain, I order you to gain control of yourself.  You losing yourself is not going to help your sister at all.  Remember what I said that first day?  Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.  We are not abandoning your sister.  We will get her back.  I need you to get yourself together so we can find her, the quicker the better.”   

 

He shakily nodded and took in a deep breath, finally able to take in Kakashi’s whole face, Naruto’s worried gaze, and their clients’ nervous stances.

 

“Teme, we will get Satomi-chan back!  Don’t you worry!  I promise we’ll get her back and bring her back home!  And I never give up or go back on my word, that’s my ninja way!”

 

Not even realizing that his lips had curved into a genuine smile, he looked up into Naruto’s shocked eyes and said softly, “Thank you, Naruto…”

 

Naruto grinned back and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, thinking that Sasuke looked good smiling like that, and he was filled with even more determination to get Satomi-chan back.  She would’ve liked to know that Sasuke-teme had called him by his name and smiled at him!  Satomi-chan would’ve teased her brother and she would’ve put an arm around his shoulder and they would’ve laughed together and… and…  They would get her back!  There’s no way they wouldn’t!

 

Kakashi nodded and bent down, bit his thumb, and went through hand seals and summoned his ninken, Pakkun, Bisuke, and Urushi.  “Pakkun, I need you to deliver a message to the Hokage immediately.  Tell him I’m requesting immediate backup, of chuunin rank at the least, to our current location.  Also, tell him that our team will be waiting for the backup team and then we will be abandoning the mission in favor of retrieval.  Hurry.”

 

“Urushi and Bisuke, I need you to find any trace of this scent and come back when you’ve found something, and hurry.”

 

The three ninken nodded and immediately set out.

 

Naruto nervously ran his fingers through his hair as he kept glancing from Sasuke to Kakashi before bursting out, “What are we doing, Kakashi-sensei?”

 

Kakashi looked at Naruto seriously for a moment before turning to Hitoshi, “Hitoshi-san, I’m afraid our team will only be accompanying you this far.  We will wait until the backup shows up before we go after our missing teammate.”

 

The three men nodded simultaneously, looking a mix between nervous and relieved.

 

Naruto asked, “Kakashi-sensei?”

 

“Naruto, Sasuke, as soon as they show up, we’re heading out… I don’t think I need to remind you how time-sensitive this retrieval will be, and I will need you both to put forth every skill you have learned to successfully find Satomi and bring her back home.”  Kakashi looked away for a moment and sighed slightly, “This isn’t how I expected our first C-rank to go…”

 

Naruto wanted to say something – like, “It’ll be alright!  Everything will turn out okay!” – but he couldn’t find it in himself to voice something so incredibly optimistic when, deep inside, he couldn’t believe it himself. 

 

***

 

            Satomi came to when the smell of something foul woke her up from her sleep – unconsciousness? – and the sound of loud, arguing voices came too close for comfort.  Dazedly, she opened her eyes only to shut them immediately when the light nearly blinded her.  When she tried to lift her head she had to stop as she gasped from the pain.  Deciding to keep her eyes closed and her head still, she tried to move her hands only to realize she was bound. 

 

She took a deep breath and smelled what woke her up again and scrunched her nose, trying to resist the urge to retch.  The smell was so strong; she couldn’t even try to figure out just what she was smelling.  She exhaled softly then tried to send chakra to her ears to figure out what the voices were saying, but then had to stifle a scream when _painredhotpain_ coursed straight to her head.  She dug her nails into the meat of her palms to keep from crying out.

 

Realizing there was nothing she could do in whatever predicament she was in, she succumbed to the darkness brought on by the _painredhotpain_ and hoped that when she awoke again, she would be in a better place.

 

***

 

            Kakashi straightened as he sensed the incoming group of chuunin and let out an inaudible sigh of relief.  They had already been waiting for near three hours; any longer and he couldn’t ensure that they would be able to retrieve Satomi in the same condition she had been.  That thought disturbed him too much for him to linger on it any longer, not when there were a million more things to do and get done. 

 

            He gestured for Naruto and Sasuke to straighten as well and, just as the group became visible, he sensed Bisuke’s chakra and hoped that he would be able to hear good news and get rid of the clients to be on their way.

 

            He filled in the chuunin on the situation then told Naruto and Sasuke to prepare to leave immediately before turning to Bisuke to hear his report, “Boss, we followed the scent for a long while, then the scent disappeared into a river, so perhaps their hideout is somewhere near the river, hopefully.  I searched around the area for any hint of a hideout, but maybe I just missed it.”

 

            Kakashi nodded then called for Naruto and Sasuke to follow Bisuke’s lead, knowing they had no time to waste if they weren’t even sure about the hideout.

 

***

           

            She came back into reality when she felt a sharp slap on her cheek.  Her eyes flew open, then closed immediately when the light nearly blinded her. 

 

            “Finally awake, are you, girly?”

 

            She winced at the lingering pain on her face then slowly opened her eyes.  The light was coming from a dirty window to her left, and it wasn’t nearly as blinding as it had seemed.  If anything, the light was rather muted, as though it was the setting rays of the sun… which made her wonder exactly how long she had been unconscious.  She looked to her right and was met with a shadowed face and piercing eyes of an indiscernible color. 

 

            The shadowed man let out a small chuckle and she resisted the urge to move from her defenseless position, knowing that if she moved even the slightest bit, she would be unable to hide her pain. 

 

            “Quiet, aren’t you?”

 

            She stayed silent and continued watching, wondering just why she was taken and what he wanted.

 

            “Alright, if you’re not going to indulge me, I’ll indulge you, you see?  I’m a nice guy, you see,” he leaned forward enough to where there was enough light for his gleaming, slightly yellowed teeth to be visible, “Generally.”

 

            She turned her head so it was facing forwards again and closed her eyes, wishing this was all just a dream and that she would wake up at home, in her own bed, seconds away from Sasuke’s and she could crawl into his arms without him questioning it, only murmuring a complaint about her cold feet.     

 

            “I took you, you see, cause I think you might just interest my Boss.” 

 

            She breathed out softly and tried to ignore the urge to gag when she inhaled his body odor and the lingering smell of the foul something from before, then slowly opened her eyes back up, “Why?”

 

            He leaned forward again, enough to where she could now see the amusement in his dark eyes and his grin, “Because you’re an Uchiwa!  You see, I saw the symbol on your shirt and I knew I saw it somewhere, you see, and I have a real skill at remembering important things, you see, and I just knew that the symbol meant something, so I couldn’t help myself!  I just had to collect you!  Then, later on, once I brought you here, I remembered that the symbol meant you’re an Uchiwa!  I thought the clan was wiped out or something, but I still remember how powerful they were and all, you see, before they were, you know, wiped out and all.  Something about your eyes, right?  I remember, you see, and I know he’ll be real pleased!  You’ll see!”

 

            Oh Kami.  She was kidnapped by a lunatic on a _whim_ because she was _stupid_ and wore her in-village shirt that had the huge Uchiha symbol on the back, basically the equivalent of a billboard sign to all who knew what the symbol meant!  Her stupidity knew no bounds.  And her kidnapper didn’t even know her clan name, but she wasn’t going to correct him and make it easier for him. 

 

            Before she could even figure out how to reply to that monologue, she saw him still before jumping in place and saying, “Oh!  He’s here!  He’ll know what to do with you, you see, and we’ll take care of you real soon, see.”

 

            He left the room and she tried to lift her head again and realized there wasn’t as much pain as before.  Trying to calm the excitement that was growing in her, she tried to move her arms and legs, then realized there were chakra restraints on her.  She groaned internally and futilely tried to break out of them by sheer force.  Well, that explained the indescribable pain when she had tried to use chakra earlier. 

 

She couldn’t do anything more to gain her bearings as she saw the man had stomped back into the dimly lit room and said, “Boss is real eager to see you, you see!  I’m to take you real quick!”  He walked closer and then said softly, “I’m real sorry, girly, but I can’t have you trying to escape from Boss now, can I?  I don’t really want to hurt you, you see, but…”  She saw him shrug slightly then, before she could even figure out what he was trying to say, she felt a pinch on the side of her neck and she lost herself to the black.

 

***

 

            Naruto knew he wasn’t the sharpest kunai in the weapon bag, but he wasn’t a complete idiot like everyone seemed to think he was. 

 

He knew that Kakashi-sensei was really worried about Satomi, even though he put up a calm front as he gestured for him and Sasuke to follow Bisuke into the trees.  He knew Sasuke was barely holding on and the only thing keeping him going was the thought that, as long as he kept his sanity, he could still save Satomi.  He knew that the group of artisans felt terrible for not knowing how to help Satomi since she had been lost protecting them… but they also felt relieved they had a more ‘capable’ group escorting them now.  A few genin and a jounin simply doesn’t cut it in a civilian’s mind, after all.

 

            He also knew that Satomi was in more danger than Kakashi-sensei was letting on.  He may have missed a lot of the classes at the Academy, but he remembered hearing the tail-end of that one lesson on capture and torture.  He remembered thinking that if he were ever captured – which, hey, isn’t likely, cause, hello, he’s the great Uzumaki Naruto, ‘ttebayo! – he would rather die than have to face what a kunoichi would go through if captured.  That lesson was probably the first time he remembered being thankful he was him… even if he was the ‘demon-brat,’ he was still a he, and he had less likely of a chance of… of other things happening. 

 

            This was also why he felt no remorse when using Sexy no Jutsu.  Those perverts deserved to get ousted and known for their perverted tendencies.  He couldn’t feel bad about making them pass out from their nose bleeds when kunoichi had it much worse cause of perverts like them. 

 

            Nope, he didn’t feel bad about that at all and enjoyed laughing at them. 

 

            Anyways, as he did his best to keep up with Kakashi-sensei’s brutal pace, he hoped that all the things Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke were fearing were all that – just fears.  He hoped to Kami that it wasn’t reality, because Satomi-chan didn’t deserve that… no one deserved that, but least of all Satomi-chan.

 

***

 

            Satomi came back to consciousness – again! Damn it, she was getting real sick of this shit – and opened her eyes only to find herself looking at a man with green hair and blue eyes, with bangs that fell onto his cheeks on either side of his nose.  He was smirking and his eyes shined with unholy glee as he met her curious gaze, “You’re awake, little Uchiha.  I didn’t think I’d ever get so lucky as to find one of your clan and have you in my grasp.”

 

            She coughed as she took in a too deep breath and smelled the foul odor of dead bodies.  Choking slightly, she gasped out, “Y-you wish, you cr-creep.”

 

            She saw the punch coming but couldn’t move fast enough and was rewarded with a hit to the eye and knew that she had just gained her first black eye.  Well, wasn’t that an improvement to her current situation.   

 

            The man leaned closer and his breath fanned her face, “Little Uchiha, I had heard your clan was known for their pride… but I never knew they were stupid on top of it.”  He leaned back and grinned, “Let me fill you in on just what you’re in, so you know you’re in no position to defy me.”  His hand grabbed her chin roughly and pulled her face closer to his, “My henchmen took you from your little team.  They brought you here, to my hideout, that no one knows about.  I was a former ANBU, I know how to hide and hide well.”  His grin grew wider, “And you’re a little girl, barely out of the Academy, and you’re at my mercy.  Because of my mercy, all that’s happened to you is a hit to the head and a punch to the face.  I could make it a lot worse for you, or you can just give me what I want.” 

 

            She tried to pull her face away, but his hand only tightened its grip on her.  She pulled up every bit of her Uchiha self and scowled, trying to channel Sasuke-nii, “What the hell do you want, then?”

           

            He let go of her chin and pushed her head back roughly, nearly sending the chair she was tied to off-kilter, “That sounds much better, though you might want to watch your mouth.  You’ll find I don’t have much patience for attitude.”  Leaning back against the wall casually, he grinned again, “My name is Raiga, one of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure.  Surely you’ve heard of me?”

 

            Wondering if it would be worth it but unable to resist, “You’re who now?  I’ve heard of the Tailless Tailed Beast and the Demon of the Mist, sure, but never a Raiga.  Are you sure you’re part of the Seven Swordsmen?”   

 

            Satomi knew she deserved the punch to the stomach, but couldn’t feel guilty for the little bit she got back at her captor, “You little _slut_!  You’ve never heard of the Thunder of the Hidden Mist, but you’ve heard of fucking Kisame and Zabuza?  I’ll fucking show you!”

 

            She felt another punch to her face and had to lean towards the side a little to spit out the blood filling her mouth, but she sneered, “If you’re one of the Seven Swordsmen and a former ANBU, how mighty do you feel, beating up an incapacitated ‘little girl’ tied to a chair?  You sure a strong ninja!  Not like just anyone can do what you’re doing right now!”

 

            She saw his hands clench, but he forced himself to lean against the wall again, “In any case, you, little Uchiha, interest me.  I’m sure you’ve heard of people having their eyes stolen, or living without their eyes.  All I want you to do, little Uchiha, is give me your eyes.”

 

            Her left eye had started to close and her face was aching, but she kept the sneer on, “What’s stopping you from just taking it?”

 

            He laughed slightly, “I can’t fault you for the guts you have, you have bigger balls than most guys I know.”  He straightened up and said seriously, “I know enough to want to know if you’ve even activated your doujutsu yet.  It’d be useless to me otherwise.” 

 

            She forced herself to think past the pain and _think_.  If she honestly told him that she hadn’t activated her eyes, he would just kill her.  But if she told him she had… well, she’d find herself blinded _and_ dead, most likely.  So she remained silent and simply closed her eyes, wishing for unconsciousness.     

 

            Thankfully, she heard someone else enter the room and opened her eyes to see the man from earlier, “Boss, I think we have a situation.”

 

            Satomi saw them step to the edge of the room and speak quietly amongst themselves, then saw Raiga’s furious face and the terrified face of the other man.  Whatever they were talking about did not seem to be good news for her, though a small part of her was hoping maybe Team 7 had found her.  She couldn’t even allow herself to think what Sasuke must be thinking right now… no, damn it, Sasuke would be okay… she would be okay… they would _all_ be okay.

 

            The other man left the room, still looking terrified, and Raiga came over, closer than before, and leaned in, “Right now you’re more trouble than I’m thinking you’re worth.  Give me what I want or, well, you won’t like what will happen.” 

 

            She turned her head away and closed her eyes again, wishing she could do something to protect herself… she felt so vulnerable like this.  “Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I can.”

 

            She gasped when she was punched so hard the chair fell over and her cheek connected hard with the wood floor.  Tears stung her eyes and she opened them and glared up at him, “Y-you can do whatever you want, but you won’t get _shit_ from me.” 

 

            Satomi screamed as she was pulled upright by her hair and felt his other hand close over her throat, “Want to explain what you mean by that, Uchiha?”

 

            She closed her eyes tight and futilely struggled in his grasp, feeling strands of her hair being pulled out.  Satomi couldn’t stop another scream from being ripped out of her throat as he pulled harder, “I-I d-don’t have my clan doujutsu.” 

 

            She felt the fingers around her throat tighten and he said menacingly, “So you’re useless to me?”

 

            She tried to shake her head, “No!  I-I don’t know how my eyes are activated!”

 

            The fingers tightened more and she began to feel the edges of unconsciousness sneaking up on her.  Then, abruptly, they loosened and she gasped for air as the hands left her throat and hair, “Maybe this will jog your memory, huh?” 

 

            Suddenly she felt electricity course through her body and she screamed herself hoarse while seizing before he stopped.  She was barely holding onto her consciousness as she felt fingers pry her eyes open and felt Raiga’s breath on her left ear, “Do you know now?”

 

            “N-no, I-I c-can’t.  I-I don’t-t even t-think f-f-females ca-can.”

 

              “Are you telling me all this was fucking _useless_ then?  I lost all my men for _no fucking reason_?!”

 

            She felt the electricity again and began seizing, her lips biting through her lip and her nails digging into her palms. 

 

            She didn’t even realize when the pain stopped as she was already long gone.

 

***

 

            Sasuke leaned close as Kakashi gestured for Naruto and him to stop by the river.  He turned to them and said, “This is as far as Bisuke knows the trail leads.  From here we need to find any possible hideout.”

 

            They both nodded simultaneously and prepared to begin searching when the other nin-ken appeared by Kakashi, “Boss, I think I found the place.  It’s not too far from here.”

 

            Kakashi simply nodded and they all fell into place, following without hesitation.

 

            Since he had heard his sister was missing, he had felt barely anything, but he was feeling the first stirrings of hope then.

 

…

 

            They all crouched up high in the trees near the clearing, looking down at the shack.  There were groups of regular bandits patrolling along with the occasional ninja around the perimeter.  The shack itself seemed to be less guarded than expected, but Sasuke wasn’t sure how to interpret that.  Altogether, there were thirty men, including the ninja, but they couldn’t be sure how many were inside since the security for the shack was considerably less. 

 

            Kakashi nodded to himself then said softly, ensuring that his words didn’t carry in the wind while thinking to himself that he really needed to teach his team signs to avoid this situation, “Alright, since there are only three of us and thirty of them, we will need to be careful to take them all out quickly before any alarm is raised.  Naruto is a one-man army, which will only be to our advantage, and I know the both of you have more stealth skills than most genin do, so this shouldn’t be too difficult.”

 

            Turning to Naruto, he said, “Naruto, I need you to create twenty clones and have them sneak up and kill as many as you can without letting any of the others know.  Once you’re discovered, cause as much of a distraction as you can and keep the focus on you.  Sasuke, you and I will take out a few on our way, but we’ll be focusing on getting into the shack while Naruto is distracting them.  We should be able to handle the ones inside until Naruto is able to dispatch the rest and join us.”

 

            Now looking into Sasuke’s eyes, his voice hardened and Sasuke unconsciously straightened under Kakashi’s serious gaze, “When we are inside, no matter what happens, you will stay by my side until we _both_ clear out the shack and find Satomi.  Most likely, whoever is the boss of all these people will be at least a jounin-level missing-nin.  Rushing in will only get Satomi killed, so I need you to stay calm and near me at all times, _no matter what_.  We _will_ get Satomi back, but I need you to trust my judgement, Sasuke.  Promise me.”

 

            Sasuke hesitated slightly before nodding.  He knew that Kakashi had seniority and that he cared about Satomi.  He had to trust him, otherwise… “Yes, I will stay near you until you say otherwise.” 

 

            Kakashi nodded and looked at both of them and said softly, “We don’t abandon our comrades and we will get Satomi back.  Now, move out.”

 

…

 

            They both stepped into the shack and took out two guards quickly and kept to the shadows as they moved forward.  That was when they heard the first of the screams.  Sasuke froze, recognizing Satomi’s voice and nearly ran forward before he felt Kakashi’s hand grab his wrist like a vice, reminding him of his promise. 

 

            Even as he stayed by Kakashi’s side taking out the occasional men as they moved deeper into the shack and towards the basement, he couldn’t help tensing every time he heard a scream.  He knew nothing good would come out of rushing and, as he knocked a bandit out and saw Naruto coming up with a grin and a thumbs-up, he knew that Satomi needed him to stay calm so that they could ensure they got her safely.  He didn’t have to like it, but he understood.  But he still tensed at every scream.

 

            They finally entered the basement and carefully edged down the stairs, Kakashi having sent Pakkun down earlier to see the layout of the basement and to knock out any people that he could.  Pakkun had come back to say that there was no one downstairs, except for a man guarding a door to a locked room.  He said that the man looked terrified and most likely a low chuunin level ninja.  They easily happened upon the man and knocked him out before he even detected them. 

 

            That was when they heard the snap of electricity and the sudden absence of screams and Sasuke was filled with an indescribable fear. 

 

            Realizing that, with the three of them, they could take whoever was in the room with Satomi, Kakashi picked the lock and they went into the room and happened upon a man with green hair and lightening on the tips of his fingers standing over a still and bloody Satomi.

 

            Sasuke didn’t even realize as his eyesight suddenly sharpened as he jumped towards the man.  He didn’t realize as he slashed a kunai at the man and the smell of blood filled the air.  He could barely hear the man over the rushing of blood in his ears as he punched the man’s face.  He didn’t feel the hits the man threw at him or the singeing of his hair as lightening came into his eyesight. 

 

            He did realize that someone was suddenly grabbing his arms and holding him down.  He looked up and found himself looking into eyes like the sky and gradually he began to hear Naruto’s voice shouting for him to calm down, that Satomi was alive, that she was just unconscious. 

 

            Sasuke nodded at Naruto and looked up as he heard what sounded like birds chirping and saw Kakashi’s arm go through the man’s heart.  He felt deep satisfaction fill him as he sat up and looked upon the man’s dead body and only regretted that he was not the one to put his hand through the man’s chest. 

 

            He shoved Naruto off him, knowing it was all over, and rushed to Satomi.  He simply stared at her bruised and bloody face, taking in her torn lip, her black eye, and other various bruises.  He wasn’t breathing until he felt her soft breath on the hand he held up to her slightly open mouth.

 

            He closed his eyes as he finally realized that he could breathe again.  His imouto was alive.  She would be okay.

 

            His imouto was with him again.  She didn’t leave him too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lateness of the chapter! I had a hard time with the chapter and a lot of what I wanted to happen didn't... it still turned out okay, just differently from what I expected. I'm not sure what that means for the rest of my plans for the story though, so I have a lot to reevaluate... 
> 
> I've realized fighting scenes are NOT my strength at all, and even though this is the freaking Naruto universe... I'm going to have to admit defeat on that front and just give the bare minimum of the fighting scenes (at least for now) and leave a lot of it up to interpretation... Sorry about that, but idk what else to tell you T_T I'm just going to focus on character development and hope I do THAT justice... 
> 
> Clearly, Raiga was LOOSELY based on canon. I took the bare facts of him and fit him as essentially an OC, since I'm pretty sure he was OOC... besides for his jealousy of Kisame and Zabuza lol. The other man was an OC and I didn't even name him, so he was unimportant! 
> 
> Anyways, yay! Satomi is rescued! Sasuke activated the Sharingan! Naruto is a sweetheart! Kakashi doesn't have to mope in more guilt! XD 
> 
> I have a question though... from what happened and the mild torture Satomi went through..... could Satomi's eyes have activated too? Or would that be too much of a stretch? I really need an answer to this because that answer will influence the rest of the story! So please do answer! 
> 
> As always, you guys are awesome and I hope the chapter wasn't a disappointment! Let me know what you think (PRETTY PLEASE) and how else you think I can improve! :) 
> 
> See y'all next time! :D :) The next chapter should hopefully be here in a week... though it'll be done faster if you answer my question *COUGH* hint hint hint HINT *cough cough* ;)


	8. It's All Okay Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the disastrous C-rank

Satomi dozed in and out of consciousness as they carried her back to Konoha.  Occasionally she’d murmur something about eyes and what sounded like protests, but it seemed like she still was unaware of what was happening.  Once they had entered through the gates, Kakashi didn’t even glance towards the Hokage tower as he rushed to bring Satomi to the hospital, figuring the Sandaime would understand.  The medical staff immediately took her off his hands and bustled the three out of the room, urging them to wait in the waiting room. 

 

Kakashi sighed softly and looked at his two students, taking in Naruto’s worried eyes and absent smile, Sasuke’s huge eyes and clenched fists, knowing that he couldn’t leave them to report to the Hokage until Satomi’s condition was stabilized or who knew what would happen with those two.

 

Naruto slightly pushed Sasuke into a seat and then sat right next to him.  He wrung his hands, unsure what to say to Sasuke since he had never been in a situation like this before. 

 

The only person who he had cared about that had gotten hurt had been Iruka-sensei, when Mizuki had turned traitor, and Iruka-sensei hadn’t been nearly as hurt as Satomi was when they found her.  He wasn’t even sure what he’d say to Satomi-chan when she woke up!  How could he explain the weird feeling he got when he saw her so still in that chair?  The way his heart kind of stopped and he wanted to be the one to rip apart that man?  But he had had to control himself, because Sasuke was barely holding on and – and that feeling he got had scared him. 

 

He forced a grin onto his face and said to Sasuke, “Teme, I told you I keep my promises!  We got Satomi-chan back!”

 

Sasuke didn’t even twitch or acknowledge that he had heard him in any way. 

 

Naruto’s smile dimmed slightly and he exhaled loudly.  He got up and moved to a vending machine, figuring he could at least try to get the bastard to drink something until the med-nin finished doing whatever they were doing and told them Satomi-chan was okay.  

 

…

 

One of the med-nin, a short woman with sleek hair, purposefully strode into the room and said, “Guardian for Uchiha-san?” 

 

Kakashi straightened, since he was her jounin-sensei he could take the place of a guardian.  He lazily walked over to the woman, belying the nervousness he felt, and inclined his head, “How is she?”

 

The woman sighed and looked down at the clipboard, “Hm, she’s fine now.  Her heartbeat is still a little irregular, due to the shocks to her system, and she is showing signs of dehydration, but she’s hooked up to an IV now.  Her other bruises and cuts are minor and are healed.  She should be able to leave the hospital by tomorrow morning.”  The woman paused then and looked up appraisingly at Kakashi, “She doesn’t show any other signs of anything else.  She got off relatively well, considering.”   

 

Kakashi showed no visible signs of the relief he felt and simply nodded.

 

Sasuke had jumped out of his seat when he had seen her come in, so he walked closer and asked, “Can I see her now?”

 

The woman nodded, “Yes, you may all see her.  Keep in mind she’s sleeping though and be considerate.  The staff will check her periodically through the night and then check her out, once her condition’s stable, in the morning.  Good day.” 

 

With that, she gestured to Satomi’s room and left them for her next patient. 

 

Sasuke, without a pause, immediately walked into the room.  Kakashi and Naruto followed promptly and found Sasuke already holding Satomi’s hand while gazing down anxiously at her.  She was hooked up to an IV, as the med-nin had stated, and the ECG beeped along steadily.  Satomi was slightly pale and her bruises stood out in sharp contrast, but they had hurried the healing process along with iryou-jutsu and so the bruises were already yellowing. 

 

The other two sat down on the chairs by the bed for a moment and silence filled the room. 

 

As Kakashi began to rise to go and give his report, Sasuke said, “… Thank you.  I… I’m not really sure what I would’ve done if… if we hadn’t brought her back.”

 

Kakashi stood and eye-smiled at Sasuke as he raised his hand to ruffle Sasuke’s hair, “There’s no need to thank us.  That’s what a team is for and I’ve already told you how I feel about abandoning a teammate.”

 

Sasuke nodded slightly and didn’t avoid Kakashi’s hand as it rested on his head, “Hn.” 

 

Kakashi moved away and said, “Maa, I have to go and give the report now to the Hokage.  Ah, Sasuke, I saw that you activated your Sharingan.  Are your eyes feeling alright?  Any extra pressure or pain?”

 

Sasuke shook his head and murmured, “No.”

 

“I hope you’re being honest; I don’t really want to know what Satomi would do to me if she found out I didn’t make sure you were properly looked after.”

 

“Yeah, teme!  Satomi-chan would be really upset with us if you were hurt.”

 

Sasuke let out a slight sigh and rolled his eyes, “There’s a little pressure behind my eyes and it kind of stings a little, that’s all.”

 

“Hm.  Go and get it checked out now.  They’ll have it checked and fixed before Satomi wakes up.”

 

Sasuke nodded and Kakashi Shunshin’d out.  Naruto smiled and stood up, “Go, teme.  I’ll watch Satomi-chan for you until then.”

 

“Hn,” he muttered before hesitating then walking out of the room.

 

Naruto moved over to the side of Satomi’s hospital bed and looked down at her.  He took in the paler than usual skin and the bruises and felt his hands clench.  That unusual anger rose in him again, giving him the impression of _red_ , before he forced it back down.  He smiled softly as he realized how, well, how _pretty_ Satomi-chan looked, even with the bruises.  Her hair fell around her face and her lips were slightly parted and were all pink and – he quickly looked away and ignored the sudden heat on his face.  Of course Satomi-chan was pretty.  She was the sister of the bastard after all, and he had a whole fan club!  He was just stating facts. 

 

He cleared his throat and went to go sit back down, figuring he wouldn’t want the bastard to come back and find him staring at his sister all creepy-like.  He settled down in the seat and forced himself to stay alert and awake.  No matter how tired he was, he would not sleep until he had seen Satomi-chan awake with his own eyes.

 

***

 

When Satomi came into consciousness, she still wasn’t sure where she was.  She thought she opened her eyes, but only darkness greeted her and then all she could think was _oh Kami, he took my fucking eyes and now I’m blind or dead_.  But then slowly the fast beeping of the machines reached her ears and her eyes adjusted enough to take in the moonlight coming in from the window and the otherwise whiteness of the room to realize she was in the hospital.  Better yet, her hands and feet were not restrained like she had thought; no, her feet were tangled up in the bedsheets and one of her hands were being gripped tightly by a sleeping Sasuke. 

 

She smiled slightly and took in Sasuke’s exhausted form.  Raising her eyes, she saw that Naruto was snoring in the other chair and her smile grew bigger.  Her brother and her friend… they had gotten her out.  She was _home_ and _safe_ and she still had her _eyes_ and it was all _okay_.

 

A woman came through the doors and smiled at her, “I see you’re awake, Uchiha-san.  Let me just check you over quickly and we’ll let you get back to sleep.  How are you feeling?”

 

Satomi softly answered her questions, trying to keep Sasuke and Naruto from waking up, but her efforts were wasted as Sasuke jumped awake and Naruto’s eyes opened sleepily.

 

“Imouto!  You-you’re awake… how are you feeling?”

 

“Satomi-chan!  You’re awake!  You took forever to wake up!”

 

Satomi laughed quietly as the woman politely dismissed herself and left the room.  She let Sasuke fussily adjust her blankets and tried to take in all of Naruto’s questions and comments.  Finally, once Sasuke looked like he wasn’t on the brink of mummifying in her blanket and Naruto paused to take a breath, she said, “I missed you two, and I never doubted you wouldn’t get me back.”

 

Naruto grinned sheepishly and Sasuke stilled then looked out the window. 

 

Naruto loudly said, “Satomi-chan!  I’m just glad you’re okay and, well, home!  Our first mission wasn’t all that great, but I bet our next one will be amazing!  We might even get to save a princess or something!” 

 

She glanced up at Sasuke and softly said to Naruto, “That sounds good, Naruto-kun.  Ah, how about we talk more tomorrow?  I’m sure you missed your bed.”  She looked at Naruto and smiled, “Good night, Naruto-kun.”

 

Naruto smiled back then walked out with a whispered good night. 

 

Once Naruto was gone, Satomi said, “Won’t you sit down, Sasuke-nii?”

 

He sat down without a word on the edge of the bed, still keeping his eyes looking out the window. 

 

She sighed quietly and twisted the blanket under her hands before saying, “Sasuke-nii… I’m okay.  I’m alive.  I didn’t leave you.  I’m here.”

 

He still didn’t say anything, but she saw his hands clench and his nails dig into his palms.

 

She leaned forward and grabbed his hands, pulling them into her lap and turning his body towards her in the process, “Sasuke-nii, please look at me.”

 

He let out an audible sigh then turned fully towards her, pulling one of his legs up and under him, “Imouto, tell me… tell me everything that happened.  Don’t you dare leave a single detail out.”

 

She winced and glanced away briefly before looking back and nodding, “I… I was guarding them and watching everyone else.  I wasn’t really paying attention to my surroundings… I let my guard down.  I guess he hit the back of my head and I fell unconscious.  I woke up sometime later and I realized I was bound with chakra restraints, so I couldn’t escape.  There was a man, he explained that he had seen our clan symbol on my shirt and took me because of that, for his boss.  He took me to his boss and it was Raiga, of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure.  He explained that he wanted my eyes, but he knew enough not to forcibly take them and asked if I had activated them yet.  I told him I didn’t know how to or if females could, to stall a little.  I knew you guys would come eventually so I was just buying time.  Then you came and now I’m here, so it’s all good!”

 

Sasuke glared and replied, “I said not to leave a single detail out.  You _know_ that’s not everything.”

 

Satomi sighed and glanced down at her lap.  She looked at their hands together and intertwined them before replying, “There’s no point in unnecessarily telling you what he did to me.  You saw what condition I was in and I’m sure the med-nin told you other details.  You don’t need to torture yourself by hearing my account of it.  It’s over and done with.  I’m okay now.”  She looked up into his eyes and sternly said, “I never once doubted you wouldn’t get me back, nii-san.  I knew I’d be okay, so I was able to cope.  I’m _okay_ , so please stop tearing yourself up about it.  There was nothing you could have done then, but you did do everything you could have.  You did what you _could_ , nii-san, and that’s all I needed.  I _love_ you, Sasuke-nii, and I don’t doubt you.  I trust you and believe in you, implicitly.”

 

Sasuke let out a shuddering breath and crawled up the bed to sit beside her before placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in to rest her head against his chest.  He buried his face in her hair and rubbed circles onto her shoulder, then murmured, “I love you too, imouto.  But I’d rather you stopped pretending.  I’m okay now that you’re safe, but are _you_ actually okay?”

 

She felt tears gather in her eyes as she breathed in her brother’s comforting presence and cracked, “Sasuke-nii… I just wanted to be home!  I just wanted to wake up and crawl into your bed and have you tell me my feet were too cold and I just didn’t want to be _there_!  I just wanted it all to be a nightmare!  I-I can’t believe I was so _stupid_ and basically wore a billboard sign asking to be kidnapped!  I’m so, so…  I’m so _sorry_ , nii-san!  I’m sorry I worried you and-and I’m _sorry_!” 

 

“Shh, it’s okay.  You’re home.  I’m here.  Shh,” and he continued murmuring soft words to her until she fell asleep, tears still in her eyes, though not a single tear had fallen. 

 

***

 

At least a week passed before they went back to their regular routine of D-rank missions.  Satomi had been discharged from the hospital that day, but the Hokage, after hearing her account of the happenings, had, essentially, ordered Team 7 to have a few days off.  Although she wanted to insist she was perfectly fine, even she didn’t think she could manage that without having the Hokage order her for a psych evaluation. 

 

So Satomi had enjoyed the days off with Sasuke-nii and Naruto, who had all but moved in.  They had enjoyed eating their meals together and coming up with over-the-top pranks to play on Kakashi once enough time had passed and they could survive another round against angry-Kakashi.  They had even gone to see a movie and enjoyed other such civilian pass-times, which had filled her with a kind of nostalgia, but she wasn’t particularly sure why.  Naruto had seemed obsessed with some princess movie, though neither her or Sasuke-nii had thought the movie that great.  Even Kakashi had dropped by occasionally for a meal or two, basically pilfering food then disappearing.  It had been a nice break, but they were all glad to be back in action. 

 

Yet, even as she laughed at Naruto’s attempts to show just how fast he can eat/swallow food without puking, she couldn’t ignore the nagging worry she felt.  They didn’t go to Wave.  Naruto hadn’t called on Kurama’s power, like he should have.  Kakashi hadn’t overused the Sharingan and realized he needs to train back up to his ANBU-level skill.  Sasuke hadn’t saved Naruto and built a bond that would cause Naruto to chase after him long past when he should’ve given up.  Naruto hadn’t learned from Haku about becoming stronger by protecting his precious people.  _It was all wrong.  All wrong and it was all her fault_.        

 

Satomi didn’t realize the smile had slipped off her face and alerted both Naruto and Sasuke as she continued to ponder on just how much the timeline was messed up. 

 

If the timeline was messed up beyond recognition… how would she be able to ensure Sasuke-nii and Naruto would survive?  How could she ensure there would be that happily ever after when… when… Oh Kami.  Sure, intellectually, she knew of the butterfly effect.  She knew her existence had already messed up many things.  She knew that Sasuke-nii was not canon-Sasuke.  She knew that her Team 7 was not like canon.  She knew Sakura was already different from canon.  But she hadn’t realized how _different_ everything was until their first C-rank!  Was her existence really that much of a disturbance?  What else would be different?  Would Naruto and Sasuke even survive the Fourth Shinobi War?  Would Naruto even become Hokage?  Would they end up in Infinite Tsukuyomi forever?    

 

How could she ensure survival when she wasn’t sure she knew anything?!     

 

“–omi?  Hey!  Imouto!  Snap out of it!” 

 

Satomi opened her eyes to find Sasuke’s paler-than-normal face closer than was comfortable and she, without thinking, pushed him away.  She raised her shaking hands and pulled her legs up to curl into as she realized just how much she didn’t want to be _here_.  She didn’t want to be in this world when she was an _anomaly_ and shouldn’t even _exist_ and –

 

“Satomi-chan!  What’s wrong?”

 

Opening her eyes, Satomi met eyes like the sky and she calmed her breathing down enough to reply softly, “I’m okay.”

 

Naruto’s face went slightly red as he scowled, and she briefly thought how strange that expression was on his face before she zoned back in to hear his words, “–‘re obviously not okay!  We’re not blind or dumb, ya know!  We were eating dinner like normal, then you went quiet all of a sudden!  You started to breathe all funny and you didn’t seem like you could hear us and you _scared_ us!  What’s wrong?  You’re not a liar, Satomi-chan, so don’t start being one.” 

 

Ruefully, she shook her head then uncurled her hands from her legs to place them back on the ground.  She ran her fingers through her hair and absentmindedly noted that it was time for a haircut before mustering up enough courage to look at Sasuke, “I’m sorry I pushed you, nii-san.  You were just too close and I felt kind of claustrophobic.”

 

Sasuke nodded and then said seriously, “I’ll forgive you, if you tell us what that was.”

 

Satomi wanted to just push it off and maybe even blame it on her kidnapping incident, but, like Naruto said, she wasn’t a liar, nor was she a good enough one to fool her twin.  Sighing, she responded, “I’m sorry for worrying both of you.  I guess I just got lost in my thoughts and…”  She looked at each of them in the eyes before dropping her eyes back to the plate of omu-rice and whispering, “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t born.” 

 

She wasn’t surprised when she felt Sasuke’s hands roughly grab her by the shoulders and force her to look into his eyes, or when she caught Naruto’s furious gaze, “What the hell is that supposed to mean, Satomi!  You wish you wasn’t born!?”

 

Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and whispered, “I don’t know how to explain to you that sometimes I feel like I’m not supposed to be here… like, I’m an… anomaly.”

 

Naruto shouted, “You think you’re an anomaly?  Just what do you mean by that, Satomi-chan?  If any one of us is the anomaly, it’s me!  Not you, never you!”

 

Her eyes snapped open and she glared at Naruto, “Don’t you dare!  You are _not_ an anomaly, Uzumaki Naruto, _believe it_.  I’ll kick anyone’s ass who says otherwise, including _you_ , Uzumaki!” 

 

Naruto scoffed, “Then what makes you think I won’t kick your ass for saying the same, _Uchiha_?”    

 

Suddenly exhausted, she pried Sasuke’s hands off her and helplessly gestured outwards, “I know I deserve both of your anger and frustration.  I’m not saying I don’t want to live, alright?  This isn’t in any way related to what happened a week ago.  It’s just… it’s just how I feel sometimes.  I want to live, Kami, I want to live a _long_ life.  But sometimes I think maybe the world would’ve been better off if I wasn’t here.  I don’t know how I can explain why I feel that way to you two… but it’s how I feel.” 

 

Sasuke grabbed her and pulled her into a hug and she felt Naruto place a tentative hand on her shoulder from behind, “The world wouldn’t be better off without you, Satomi.  I know for a fact that _we_ wouldn’t be better off without you.  You are the glue that keeps us together and… you’re also my everything, imouto, so please don’t say you shouldn’t exist.  What would I be without you?”  He had whispered the last part then buried his face in her shoulder. 

 

She felt tears prick her eyes and she smiled tremulously, “I love you, Naruto-kun and Sasuke-nii.  I’m sorry for saying that and… thank you for making me realize how stupid I was for feeling that way.  You’re right, you’re both right.  I’m not saying the feelings will disappear… but I’ll do my best to not think that way anymore.”

 

Naruto cleared his throat and said in a quieter voice than his normal shout, “We love you too, Satomi-chan.”

 

She reached behind her and pulled Naruto into the hug, ignoring when both Naruto and Sasuke stiffened at the prolonged contact between the two.  Smiling, she basked in their warmth and presence.

 

Satomi knew that she wasn’t supposed to exist here, but she _did_.  So that had to mean something.  Maybe this timeline, this world, would not go the way it had in canon, but that didn’t have to mean a bad thing.  It’s not like normal people are given a guide on how the future will shape out to be.  No, most people just do what they can and figure out things as they go along, and that’s all she can do.  She would figure it out as she went along and simply hope it’d all turn out okay in the end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short transition chapter and tying up loose ends from the mission! It wouldn't have made sense to just jump into the Chuunin exams! Not like the anime lol. Hopefully the next chapter will be much longer and make up for this short update! 
> 
> I've realized that I'm going to be focusing the story a lot more on character development and relationships, just to let you know! (Did you catch the little hints at romance? :D I don't want to end up forcing it, so there has to be hints!) 
> 
> The Chuunin Exams, as I sort of hinted here, will not go like canon and will hopefully be unique XD I'll do my best in any case, though some things that I deem important will, of course, stay the same! 
> 
> Thank you for the amazing comments and everything! It's awesome hearing from you and it definitely helps me write faster :D <3 
> 
> Please do lemme know what you think and if you have any suggestions! :D :)


	9. A Small Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-Chuunin Exams

Satomi rubbed her eyes and sat down on the ground with a loud huff.  She really did love their sensei, quirks and all, but the constant lateness did get annoying.  This morning was even worse because Naruto had been called by the Hokage for something or other and Sasuke was at the hospital, getting his eyes checked out due to some irritation; read: practicing with the eyes to the point of chakra exhaustion.  So it was only her waiting for their ever-tardy teacher, at least until the other two showed up to practice and they could all collectively laugh at making their silver-haired sensei get a taste of _his_ own medicine. 

 

Even if that _was_ the plan, it still entailed _her_ patience being tested to the limits today, with no one else sharing in her misery.

 

Yet, to her surprise, she saw the tell-tale smoke of a Shunshin and Kakashi appeared with an eye-smile, a lazy wave, and an excuse on his lips, “Maa, sorry I’m late.  You see, I was – hm?  I could’ve sworn I had two more to tort– ah, excuse me, teach.”

 

Satomi rolled her eyes and stood up, “Naruto was summoned by Hokage-sama for something and Sasuke had to go to the hospital to get his eyes checked out.”

 

“Hm, I see.  Well, I guess that means we get to have more fun than them!”

 

She stared at him incredulously, “Fun?  You were just planning on having us train until we collapsed again!  Especially since we can’t do any D-ranks without them here!” 

 

Kakashi raised a hand to the back of his neck and said, she supposed, sheepishly, “Don’t be so cruel, Satomi-chan, I promise we’ll have lots of fun, just us two!” 

 

Satomi rolled her eyes again and crossed her arms, “Kakashi-sensei, I don’t even know what to say to you sometimes.  You steal food from us, train us until we can barely walk, come late to training… hm, sometimes I think us playing a prank on you was going too _easy_ on you.”

 

Kakashi chuckled lightly, surprising her out of her snarky mood, “Satomi, that reminds me, I did want to talk to you alone and this seems as good a time as any.”  

 

She straightened automatically and inclined her head, “What did you want to talk about, Kakashi-sensei?”

 

He leaned against a tree and said in an indecipherable tone, “How are you feeling, Satomi?  It’s been almost a month now.”

 

Satomi sighed and looked away from Kakashi, “I’m okay, Kakashi-sensei.  Like you said, it’s almost been a month.  Sasuke-nii and Naruto-kun have helped, and the week off was nice too.  You helped too, you know.  Your presence was nice.  Being together as a team was more than nice… kind of like… almost like family.  I liked it and it helped.”

 

Kakashi waited until her eyes met his before letting his eyes crinkle in the most genuine smile, she assumed, she had seen from him, “I’m glad you took comfort from us, Satomi.  That’s a healthy way of coping.”  He straightened from the tree then said, “That mission was not anything like how I expected your first mission to go.  None of you were prepared for that situation, but you all pulled through and behaved admirably.  I may not show it or say it enough, but I am proud to be Team 7’s sensei.”

 

Satomi’s cheeks became flaming red and she looked down to her hands, “Th-thank you, Kakashi-sensei…” 

 

He came close enough to ruffle her hair and she pulled away with an indignant cry, trying to fix up her now messed up hair, “Well, what are you waiting for, Satomi-chan?  I expect you to have already been done with your warm-ups.  Now, chop-chop!  Daylight’s burning!”

 

She half-heartedly glared at him and his smiling eye, but she set out to do her warm-up exercises with an inexplicable warmth in her chest.

 

***

 

“Hm, Naruto-kun?  Why do I feel like we’re being _followed_?”

 

Naruto looked at Satomi with a sheepish smile, then turned to the square box of rock camouflage.  He glared and said, “Konohamaru, your disguise isn’t really much of one!  Who has ever seen square rocks?!”    

 

With a burst of colorful smoke, three children came onto the scene and Satomi couldn’t hold in the giggles as she took in their clearly practiced pose and Naruto’s exasperated expression.  She laughed harder as Naruto’s face went beet red at the way the brown-haired boy went on and on about some promise to play ninja and about how they were the ‘Konohamaru Corps’ and, goodness, they were _ridiculous_! 

 

Finally, wiping the last traces of laughter off her face, she said, “Can I play ninja too, or is Naruto-kun the only one allowed to play?” 

 

Three surprised eyes turned to her and Naruto’s shocked ones met hers, but she simply grinned back, “I never got the chance to play ninja as a kid, cause Sasuke-nii was a total stick in the mud and only played with-with… anyways, I’d love to play ninja with you guys!  Maybe we can even add in some actual ninja skills and make it more like training for us, Naruto-kun?” 

 

Naruto straightened and pulled some pose reminiscent of Rock Lee’s Nice Guy Pose ™ – which was strange, considering they haven’t even met yet – and replied, “That sounds awesome, Satomi-chan, ‘ttebayo!” 

 

The brown haired boy – Konohamaru, she assumed – leaned closer to Naruto and whispered – attempted to whisper – “Boss, is she your, you know,” and he held up his pinky finger with a loaded grin.

 

Naruto’s face went red again and he smacked the back of Konohamaru’s head, “Sh-shut up, baka!  Satomi-chan and me aren’t like _that_ , we’re just good friends and-and, you baka!” 

 

Though Satomi’s face had gone red at the insinuation of being Naruto’s _girlfriend_ – and it wasn’t because of disgust or anything … if anything, she wasn’t really sure _what_ she felt about it –  she started laughing as Naruto chased after Konohamaru.  It was moments like these, as she ran after the pair to prevent any actual blood-spilling or other accidents, that made becoming friends with Naruto completely worth it.  She couldn’t remember any time in her life where she had smiled or laughed as much as she had in these past few months since becoming Team 7.  Even as a child, she couldn’t be sure she ever smiled large enough that her cheeks hurt for hours afterwards.  She couldn’t remember ever laughing so hard that she started snorting up water, or just smiling for the sake of smiling while walking with Naruto and listening to his cheery chatter.  Sasuke had even laughed out loud a few times, though he always scowled twice as hard after those instances. 

 

Naruto was a beacon of light in her life, and she couldn’t ever go back to a lightless life now.  No… she didn’t want to not have Naruto in her life.  Maybe that’s why she wasn’t opposed to the idea of being Naruto’s girlfriend?  Yeah, that’s it.  She just liked Naruto’s presence, and so she wasn’t opposed to the idea of being more because Naruto is so sunshine-y and – and – well, whatever.  She wasn’t opposed to the idea because of some reason she couldn’t fathom right now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SO sorry for nearly not posting on this for a month! I just got super side-tracked by a game that I'm very much obsessed (I have dedicated 80+ hours on this game and I have written 2 fanfics... so far!) with! It's Persona 5, for any fellow fans ;) 
> 
> ANYWAYS, I had this already written and just wanted to post it. I apologize for any errors and if it's not up to snuff. Just wanted to post SOMETHING :)


	10. To Participate or Not to Participate Is the Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Still) Pre-Chuunin Exams... :3 Be patient, my dear readers!

The next morning, Sasuke and Satomi showed up to the bridge with Naruto in tow, all of them excited to officially start training again as a team.  Satomi was also trying to convince the boys that handling ‘boring’ D-ranks would be nice, for a short while anyways.  Naruto and Sasuke were even more psyched about training after meeting that team from Suna.  Sasuke kept going into sullen silences when reminded of that red-haired kid, which worried Satomi, but she wasn’t sure how to get her brother to tell her what he was thinking in front of Naruto, so she resigned herself to wait until later. 

 

“Satomi-chan!  I can’t believe that guy just grabbed Konohamaru like that and –”

 

Satomi huffed out a laugh and rolled her eyes, “Yes, yes, Naruto-kun, you’ve said this like a million times.  Trust me, I don’t like that team either.”

 

“Hn… I’m just wondering why that team was walking around Konoha with no problem.  They’re foreign nin, how could the shinobi at the gate have let them in and let them do whatever with no concern to security?”

 

“Ah, my cute genin, it seems my presence will be much appreciated today, as I have all the answers to your questions!” 

 

They all looked up to find Kakashi nonchalantly standing on the bridge next to them, hands in his pockets and his trademark eye-smile on his partially covered face. 

 

Satomi stood up from sitting on the bridge and leaned against the railing instead, nodding in greeting.  Sasuke mirrored her movements, but instead inclined his head, still caught up in thoughts of Gaara. 

 

Naruto burst up and bounced in place, “Kakashi-sensei!  Why were they here?  What were they doing in Konoha?  What do you mean you have answers?  Well?”

 

Kakashi chuckled and pulled out three slips of paper from his pocket and handed them to each, “I have nominated Team 7 for the Chuunin Exams, which are taking place in Konoha this time.  To answer your questions, that foreign team you saw is here for the Chuunin Exam, and you will be seeing more foreigners as the exam will be taking place tomorrow morning, bright and early.”

 

Satomi’s mouth dropped open uncharacteristically in surprise, “ _Tomorrow morning_?!  And you nominated us and are just now telling us!  We’re not ready for this!  We’ve been out of commission for almost a month now, just barely meeting for unofficial trainings!  Kakashi-sensei, how could you do this to us!” 

 

Sasuke glared at Kakashi as he snatched the paper from him and grunted in annoyance.  Satomi idly wondered how she could read her brother’s grunts so well and chalked it up to her natural talent, courtesy of being an Uchiha.  She also idly realized that that Uchiha arrogance was showing strong in her.  Oh well. 

 

Naruto was also gaping even as he enthusiastically grabbed the paper from Kakashi, but soon enough he was jumping in place again and grinning, “Yes!  This will be the perfect way for me to show that Suna bastard that I’m worthy of knowing!  How dare he just dismiss me and ask about Sasuke!”

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto and Satomi snapped out of her surprised daze enough to grab the paper and scan it to see it was just a general form for participating, there wasn’t even any statements of acknowledgement of possible death in the exams.  Honestly… negligent shinobis. 

 

Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and replied, “Ah, I’m afraid I forgot to tell you as soon as I nominated you.  That’s alright, I have every faith that Team 7 will knock the other teams out of the water.”  His voice went serious and the three of them straightened up immediately, “I have been training you personally for almost six months now.  I have taught you stealth, taijutsu, information gathering, chakra exercises, and you all have become an admirable team that upholds my most important teaching: ‘those who abandon the mission are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.’  I have no doubt that you will all do admirably well, so it doesn’t matter when I told you.  If you choose to go to the exam, I know you will do well.  Ultimately, though, it is your choice whether or not you go.  So take the afternoon and tonight to decide whether or not you are chuunin material.  Ja ne!” 

 

The three of them incredulously stared at the pile of leaves that was their strange sensei.  Satomi rolled her eyes and muttered, “Only he can deliver such a cool speech then disappear before we can respond.”

 

Naruto, in an awestruck voice, said, “I never realized Kakashi-sensei _could_ be cool… usually he’s so weird with his eye and that book!”

 

Sasuke huffed and rolled his eyes, “He _is_ a jounin, after all.  There had to be something cool about him.”

 

Satomi laughed as she realized that Sasuke and Naruto still didn’t know that their sensei is Kakashi of the Sharingan, the man who had copied a thousand jutsu!  How could she have forgotten to tell them?  Immediately, she told them how Kakashi had become a chuunin at six, and how he was known for his mastery of his single Sharingan eye.  Understandably, Sasuke was astounded and annoyed that he didn’t know about Kakashi and even Naruto was surprised that Kakashi-sensei was _that_ cool. 

 

Anyways, once that whole misunderstanding was cleared up, the three of them decided to go back to the twins’ apartment so that they could decide whether or not they would attend the Chuunin exam.  As they were walking back, Satomi was stuck in her own thoughts. 

 

She knew what was coming and every bit of her was screaming to say ‘no!’ and refuse to enter, just to save her brother.  _However_ , she wasn’t sure she could live with herself if she continued to inhibit Naruto and Sasuke’s growth.  Already Naruto hadn’t tapped into Kyuubi’s power, and Sasuke never sacrificed himself for Naruto, so that bond never formed.  If she kept them from the Chuunin Exam, Naruto would never fight Neji and gain his confidence or his friendship and loyalty.  Naruto would never help Gaara and then Gaara would never become Kazekage.  On the other hand, Sasuke would never have the curse seal… but Orochimaru would most likely still invade, so she was, at best, delaying the inevitable and creating a future she could no longer predict. 

 

She sighed audibly as she spooned rice into the bowls and placed them before Naruto and Sasuke, ignoring their concerned looks. 

 

It looked inevitable. 

 

Team 7 would be participating in the Chuunin Exams.

 

***

 

Later that night, Satomi snuck into her brother’s bed and curled up beside him, resting her head on his chest.  Sasuke’s hand immediately came up and began to run his fingers through her hair, even as he exasperatedly asked, “What are you doing, imouto?”

 

Satomi smiled and closed her eyes contentedly, “I’m sleeping.  You should sleep too; we have a big day tomorrow.” 

 

She could sense Sasuke rolling his eyes as he sighed, “You are an incorrigible brat.”

 

“And yet you love me.”

 

“Hn.  Perhaps.”

 

“It’s never good to lie to one’s better half, you know.”

 

“Shush, you impossible brat.”

 

She laughed and they lapsed into silence, Sasuke still running his fingers through her hair and Satomi idly listening to her twin’s heartbeat, comforted by its steady beat. 

 

As her eyes started to close, she softly asked, “Nii-san, are you worried about tomorrow?”

 

“Of course not.  Why?  Are you?”

 

“It’s not that I’m so worried that I don’t want to participate.  I dunno, it’s just… after that mission… I’m a little wary.”

 

“You heard Kakashi.  He has faith in us and, no matter my opinions on him as a person, after that mission I do not doubt him as our sensei.  He would not intentionally throw us into something without believing we would be fine.”

 

Satomi hummed softly and replied, “I know, that’s why I agreed to participate.  I believe in Team 7 too.  Why do you want to participate, Sasuke-nii?”

 

He didn’t respond immediately, and his grip on her tightened for a few moments before loosening, “Imouto, you know why.  I have to get stronger… I can’t let what happened to you happen again and… That Man…”

 

Satomi’s hand came up and gripped his nightshirt tightly, and she curled even closer to her brother, needing his warmth and needing to remember that he was with her right then, and always if she had a choice about it, “I know, nii-san…  as long as you promise never to leave me behind.  I… I will make myself stronger and do anything to stay by your side, nii-san.  Just… don’t leave me.”

 

Sasuke simply turned his body, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping his arms around her.  He held her tightly and softly replied, “I won’t leave you.”

 

She smiled and closed her eyes, feeling slightly better. 

 

Even if her brother still got that curse seal, she wouldn’t let her brother leave without her, not anymore… even if that meant becoming a missing-nin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaack! After a VERY long break O_O I'm so sorry, I didn't really intend for that to happen... but I lost my interest in Naruto for a bit there and just got back into it. I was pretty surprised how easy it was to get back into the story. But I apologize if this chapter's tone sounds a little different from the rest of the story! It has been a few months and I have different ideas of how I want the story to go now ;) I laid a few hints for some differences, so lemme know if you caught them :D 
> 
> Also, you may have noticed that I removed the Naruto/Satomi pairing... I was rereading what I wrote and I felt kind of awkward having two twelve year olds together. Also, with my different plans, I'm not sure if they will ever actually end up together. I'm not saying there is ZERO possibility of it happening, but it could end up another way ;) If you want, I can open up pairings for Satomi. 
> 
> As always, I look forward to any comments/suggestions/whatever you have to say! I've read all the comments you guys have posted, even during my hiatus, and they really did motivate me not to abandon the story! So your comments are VERY much appreciated <3 
> 
> I also have hopes for this exam to be different from the others, just like the mission ;) So it might take me some time to post the next chapter (especially since I have a bunch of midterms coming up.... >.<), but I have not abandoned this story and there will be updates! I love Satomi too much to leave her in the lurch!


	11. Omake #2: Uchiha Satomi: Missing-Nin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What could be, what could've been... if Satomi had been a little less put together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***NOTE: I wrote this omake BEFORE finishing writing the C-rank mission, which is why Satomi has the Sharingan... she does NOT have the Sharingan in the actual story.***

What Could Be:

 

            Uchiha Satomi, since the awakening of her past life, had thought that she would do everything to prevent her brother from following that same path for several reasons.  One, she loved him too much to let him suffer like that alone.  Two, she was selfish enough that she couldn’t bear the thought of her brother leaving her.  And, three, she just didn’t like the idea of her brother killing her other brother.  It left a bad taste in her mouth. 

 

            Not to mention Orochimaru was just creepy and, nope, no way in hell was he getting her brother! 

 

            So she had planned on completely avoiding Orochimaru in the second test during the Chuunin exams and ensuring that her brother would never be left alone.  In all her planning and optimism, she had forgotten some vital facts.

 

            She was also an Uchiha.  She had awakened her Sharingan fully formed.  And, because she was female, she might seem like the easier target.

 

            It came as a shock, then, when she found Orochimaru attached to her neck while Naruto was off who-knows-where and Sasuke lay on the ground, unable to move due to the killing intent in the air.  Even as she screamed in pain, she internally cursed her stupidity.  Then, as Orochimaru smirked at her and Naruto burst out to attack Orochimaru, only to get sealed by him, she lost consciousness.

 

            That was when Uchiha Satomi as Sasuke and Naruto, and the rest of Konoha knew her, disappeared.

 

            When she awoke, she felt a power coursing through her, a power that filled her with a lust for more, and she laughed, even as she broke some genin’s arms.  She laughed harder when she realized that she had the power to not only beat the crap out of her Aniki, she could fix all the problems with this whole world!  She knew all the villains and now she could _do_ something about it! 

 

            The only thing stopping her was her brother’s arms around her and Naruto’s voice calling for her to calm down. 

 

            So she calmed the power down, if only for now, and smiled tremulously as she murmured platitudes to the pair of them and determined that she would have to leave, if only to not hurt them.

 

            With this power, she could ensure that Sasuke and Naruto would never be hurt again… but they wouldn’t understand.   They wouldn’t understand that she was willing to do _anything_ for them, including leaving, if it was for their own good.

 

            Uchiha Satomi, now newly awakened, began the path of the avenger, but she continued the act of her previous self… if only for now.  

 

What Could’ve Been:

 

Hatake Kakashi leaned against the building and let out an inaudible sigh before saying, “Right then, let’s introduce ourselves, shall we?  Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, that sort of thing.”

 

An awkward silence descended upon them and Kakashi nearly sweat-dropped at both of the Uchiha twins emotionless faces and Naruto’s nervous but eager one.  “Hm, alright, I’ll give you an example.  Well, I’m Hatake Kakashi.  Things I like and things I hate… I don’t feel like telling you.  My dreams for the future… hm.  As for hobbies, I have lots of hobbies.”

 

No one spoke, still, though he could see that it took everything in Naruto to not burst out, but he was intimidated by the twins’ silence.  “Blondie, why don’t you go next.”

 

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto!  I like instant ramen, and the ramen Iruka-sensei buys me at Ichiraku’s.  I hate the three minutes you have to wait for the ramen after you pour the water in and my hobbies are eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them!  My dream is to surpass the Hokage, so the whole village will acknowledge my existence!”

 

“…Okay then,” he then nodded towards the male of the twins and said, “You’re next.”

 

“My name is Uchiha Sasuke.  I don’t like particularly anything, besides my sister, and I dislike many things.  What I have is not a dream, but a reality… I’m going to restore my clan to its former glory.”

 

Well, that was slightly unexpected, but not too bad.  “Okay, you now.”

 

The girl lifted up her head and she met his gaze dead-on, “My name is Uchiha Satomi.  I like many things and dislike many things.  I have no particular hobby.  My goal in life is to kill certain people and avenge my clan!”  

 

Hatake Kakashi stared at the female Uchiha and resisted the urge to sweatdrop.  The files… they said that the _male_ was more likely to pursue revenge, not the girl! 

 

Fantastic. 

 

Not only did he have a hyperactive idiot in his team, he had _two_ unstable children.  Two unstable children he would have to take under his wing in order to foster a love for the village and ensure that they learned the Will of Fire.  One unstable child he would have to particularly watch so she wouldn’t bolt and end up a missing-nin.    

 

They just weren’t paying him enough for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe :D I had a bit of fun with this. I had this idea written down a while ago as an omake and thought it would be fun to post. 
> 
> Obviously, these were/are two directions I can take this story. Lemme know what you think :D 
> 
> Maybe I can write more omakes of Satomi as a missing-nin ;) I think she would be pretty badass. But... then again... I am biased :3


	12. Begin: Chuunin Exams!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And thus begins the exams... and the further effects of the butterflies around the world.

Just because Sasuke had caused her to have an epiphany on how she stands with her brother’s future does _not_ in any way mean that Satomi was not as nervous as all hell on the way to the testing building for the Chuunin exams. 

 

After all, people _die_ in this exam and none of the shinobi in charge had had the courtesy to put that on the application form.  Honestly.  She was still peeved about it, enough to comment to Sasuke who rolled his eyes and shoved her shoulder lightly.  His eyes told her how ridiculous it was to expect a sentence proclaiming possible death in an exam that was a contest for a job promotion… a job that paid in blood and lives. 

 

The expectation of possible death and killing was told by the headband on her forehead, and that was all the notification needed. 

 

Satomi slowly reached out and grabbed Sasuke’s hand, just before the building came into view, then released his hand in favor of wrapping her arms around him, burrowing her head into his chest and breathing in his familiar scent.  Sasuke’s arm automatically came around her and his other hand fell on the back of her head and tangled in her low ponytail.  She smiled and then softly whispered, “Good luck, nii-san.”

 

His fingers tightened in her hair then he whispered back, “Good luck, imouto.”  Then he released her and turned towards the building without another look back.

 

It was time and there was no going back now.

 

***

 

Naruto’s face was pale and he had a shaky grin on his face, but he was still exuberantly jumping and greeting them with a loud voice that did not even hint at any possible nerves he had. 

 

Satomi had to smile at Naruto, because just being around Naruto was like being surrounded by liquid sunshine… not only that, she now knew him enough to know when his wide grin was tinged with just the slightest bit of trepidation. 

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes and muttered, “Dobe,” in greeting.  To continue their traditional greeting, Naruto responded with a loud, “Teme!”

 

All was right in the world.

 

Satomi just laughed and grabbed them both by the elbow, pulling them into the building and towards their possible doom.

 

(Uchihas are allowed to be dramatic within their own mind.  Or, just in general.  It was part of the Unofficial Uchiha Guide Towards Being Uchiha-Awesome.  Yes, Satomi was shocked to discover the book as well.  But that doesn’t mean it’s not _real_.  It’s real.  Very much so.  Even if Sasuke threatened to throw a Great Fireball at it, saying it was blasphemy.  Psh.  Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt... or something like that.) 

 

They were greeted almost immediately by the general clamor of pre-teens who are nervous/excited.  Satomi let go of the both of them so they could fall in line next to her, and they continued forwards, already heading towards the stairs and ignoring the group who had fallen for the genjutsu.  Naruto trusted Satomi and Sasuke inexplicably, even if he was a little bit confused, so he didn’t question them and just followed. 

 

Which was just as well, since Team 9 had just started their game of causing the competition to underestimate them.  Satomi really doesn’t want to become the affections of Rock Lee… well, even if it is arrogant of her to think that that would happen.  However, Satomi is self-aware enough to know she inherited the Uchiha genes of being Not Bad Looking, and she _is_ the twin sister of _the_ Uchiha Sasuke.  She’s his sister, but she’s not _blind_. 

 

It’s not that farfetched, so it’s better that that whole situation was avoided… since Sasuke really wouldn’t appreciate Rock Lee’s proclamations of undying love towards her.  No, he would probably respond with a Grand Fireball and all his kunai and shuriken and that just would not be good before the exam.

 

Never let it be said that Satomi did not do her best for her brother to ace the exam.  She’s giving it her all. 

 

In any case, they promptly arrived before the testing room to see Kakashi waiting for them.  He greeted them with a lazy wave and an eye-smile, “I knew all three of you would enter, I never had a doubt.” 

 

Sasuke scoffed and Naruto fairly preened, Satomi just rolled her eyes then smiled, “After that speech, Kakashi-sensei, did you expect anything else?” 

 

Kakashi just chuckled and ruffled each of their heads, “Maa, maa, go and walk in before you’re too late.  I’d wish you luck, but I don’t think any of you need it.  Ja ne!”

 

He left promptly and the three of them looked at one another before just shrugging at their sensei’s familiar actions.  Satomi stepped forward and said firmly, “Like Kakashi-sensei said, we don’t need luck. We have the ability to ace this exam and cream the competition!  Now let’s go in and put on a show.”

 

Naruto grinned and confidently walked forward, opening the doors with a bang, not giving off any sense of unease at the immediately unfriendly gazes that fell upon them.  Sasuke followed in the blond’s wake, his hands in his pockets and giving off an aura of laziness and a ‘would-rather-not-be-here’ feeling.  Satomi had her hands clasped in front of her, her eyes wide, and she was slightly trembling, obviously nervous and afraid.  

 

The rookie nine were there, and they also eagerly took in Team 7.  They noticed how the three were obviously not in sync, even the twins seemed to be at odds with one another.  Satomi was glaring at Sasuke, Sasuke glaring at Naruto, and Naruto was glaring at the both of them, though he kept throwing grins at the competition and flexing his muscles. 

 

Shikamaru observed the three carefully before softly snorting and going back to leaning against the wall and dozing lightly.  Team 7 was full of troublesome people. 

 

Choji watched them as well, but he followed Shikamaru’s lead and leant against the wall and munched away on his chips, nervousness causing him to eat more than he probably should… but it was understandable, under the circumstances.  Plus, food equals energy, and he’d need plenty of energy.  It made perfect sense. 

 

Ino smirked, feeling triumphant.  Sure, it would have been nice if Forehead-Girl was there to rub it in her face that _Ino_ would be who Sasuke would fall for now, but the fact that Sasuke clearly didn’t like his teammates must mean he was lonely, meaning that Ino had a chance to become closer to him, without worrying about Forehead’s interference!  It was perfect!  Truly, deciding to attend the Chuunin Exams was worth it after all. 

 

Kiba was grinning gleefully at the actions of Team 7’s members.  He’d show them all just who the best of the rookies were!  He was the strongest, and with Akamaru at his side, nothing would stop them from beating everyone up and getting that promotion!

 

Shino kept his eyes on Team 7 and kept his thoughts to himself… not like anyone wanted to hear what he thought anyways, he considered derisively.  

 

Hinata nervously fiddled with her fingers, wanting to ask Naruto whether he was okay, since he seemed to be alone, even in his team.  But the thought of _talking_ to _Naruto_ made her face violently red and feel faint, so she forced herself to think on something else.

 

Team 10 finally made their appearance, but they only spared a cursory glance at the Rookie 9, not thinking any of them were worth their attention.  They had trained for a year, had more experience and missions on them.  They were guaranteed to beat the competition and leave them all in the dust.  Rock Lee would manage it by emanating his idol and with his Youthful Spirit!  Tenten was confident in her abilities, especially since she was a serious kunoichi.  None of the other kunoichi had a chance against her.  Neji simply knew that Fate was on his side, and it was his destiny to proceed and succeed in this goal.  He had to show the other Hyuuga that the seal, while it kept him caged, did not stop him from being a genius. 

 

Team 7, while continuing their charade, made sure to keep an eye of the team from Sand, noting how the other shinobi kept a clear distance from the redhead.  That team was to be watched, and Team 7 knew they were the only ones who would have a chance against them after all their training and that disastrous C-turned-A-rank mission.

 

Kabuto also kept his eyes on Team 7, but mostly on the male Uchiha.  It was quite clear that the boy already displayed a lack of loyalty for Konoha.  Kabuto suppressed the urge to smirk; yes, his master’s plans would go through perfectly.  Easily, he stepped forward towards the Rookie 9 with his trading cards, playing his role well. 

 

They all displayed what they wanted and perceived what they wanted.  They were just shinobi-in-training, after all… they forgot to look underneath the underneath, which was what Team 7 had been banking on.

 

***

 

“Listen up, you twerps!”  With a bang, Ibiki walked into the room, reveling in the jumps from a few of the less prepared shinobi.  He grinned sadistically as a few looked at him in fear, wondering what he was doing there and what he wanted.  Well, he’d show them _exactly_ what he was there for.  “For some reason, more of you managed to figure out the genjutsu on the first floor than I thought.  Good.  It would have been disappointing if all of you ended up having less brain cells than a rock.”  He nonchalantly leant against a wall and started picking his nails with a sharp kunai, internally smirking at the soft gasps that action earned. 

 

He let his eyes connect with each of the participants, lingering for just long enough to unnerve them.  Once he had made his circuit around the room, noting who was scared easily, who met his eyes, and who remained impassive, he grinned wolfishly and straightened, “My name is Ibiki Morino, and I am your proctor for the first part of the Chuunin Exams.  Now, listen closely, cause I’m only going to give the instructions once.”

 

There was a pin-drop silence, and even those still shuddering in fear forced themselves to still… if only to prevent wrath falling upon them from their fellow teammates. 

 

Ibiki’s grin widened and he continued once he was sure every single gaze was raptly upon him, “Beyond those doors is your test.  You will move onto the next test according to how successfully you complete your task and how long it takes your team to finish.  Yes, this first exam is a _team_ effort.  If not all of you finish the exam, then all of you are disqualified.  It is a written exam that each of you will complete.  If you are caught cheating five times, then your team is automatically disqualified.  The sooner you finish your questions, the sooner you can move onto the next part of the exam.  After the written exam, you must all, meaning every single one of your members, must solve the puzzle.  Only then will you have finished the first part.  The proctors will be watching you for cheating and for your teamwork efforts.  Remember, all of you must be present to complete the tests.  You are disqualified otherwise.  Any questions?”  None dared to even consider raising their hand.  Ibiki nodded, “Good.  Now get a move on, you sniveling brats.  I don’t have all day to waste on you lot.”

 

Satomi stepped forward with the crowd, grabbing the nearest seat, absently noting Naruto seating himself strategically near the door to the next room and Sasuke next to Shikamaru.  As soon as the papers were passed out, Satomi didn’t spare a single glance towards the others, her mind racing to complete the answers as quickly as possible.  Once she was done, she began to tap her pencil idly against the desk, with no particular pattern that anyone else could discern.  That was when Naruto picked up his pencil and began furiously writing down his answers.  Sasuke also wrote after Satomi finished, but he started more calmly and carefully. 

 

As soon as Naruto was done, he burst up and began walking towards the doors to the next room, Satomi calmly stayed seated, as did Sasuke.  When Naruto got to the doors, he turned around and faced the room with a grin, “I knew none of you had anything on me!  I’m Uzumaki Naruto, after all!  I’m going to be Hokage one day and you guys should all just give up now!  You have nothing on me!”

 

Sasuke stood up with a bang and a snarl, “Shut the hell up, dobe!  You couldn’t find your way out a paper bag, much less find the way to become Hokage.  Just give up now and spare us all the trouble.”

 

Satomi nervously stood up and started walking towards the doors, her fingers twiddling, “G-guys, let’s just go on… we’re disturbing the others and-and we gotta work together, remember?”

 

Sasuke snorted, “You two are just dragging me down.  Just hurry up and get on.  I don’t need you to do the next part.”

 

The three of them walked out the doors then, and finally all those watching went back to the exam… realizing then that they had wasted time watching Team 7 and their stupid argument.  Ibiki grimly smiled; Kakashi had trained them well.  They were a team to watch, after all.

 

In the next room, Team 7 noticed a table in the middle of the room with a nondescript box.  They approached cautiously but hurriedly, Sasuke with his eyes activated.  Quietly, he murmured, “There’s nothing on the box that I can see.  It’s just a box.”

 

Satomi nodded and carefully opened it, having already pulled on gloves from her satchel.  Inside the box was a scrap of paper and it simply said, _Hide me well and you may very well pass._  

 

Naruto grinned mischievously and began scanning the room for the perfect place to hide it.  Sasuke and Satomi simply let the blond do his thing; they knew their prankster well, after all.  Naruto immediately wadded up the paper then place it in his mouth, wetting it, then he stuck it under the table, not seeing anywhere else to stick it.  Satomi had to stifle a giggle and even Sasuke had to suppress a wild grin.  Naruto laughed and strutted out the other pair of doors, the ones towards the exit.

 

Let the others examine the box frantically, wondering what they were supposed to do.  After all, Team 7 had just destroyed the instructions… unless the proctors replaced the box after each group.  In any case, they had hidden it well. 

 

They were confident they would be moving on.

 

***

 

The jounin watching the exams all looked at Kakashi, leaning against the door without a care. 

 

Kurenai finally said, “Just what have you been teaching your genin, Kakashi-san?”

 

Asuma shook his head and muttered, “They’re evil… but good.  Clearly they took after you just a little too well.” 

 

Genma was gleefully chuckling, Raidou was shaking his head in amusement, and Anko was grinning sadistically. 

 

Kakashi just eye-smiled and went back to _Icha Icha_.  Really, he had been a genin at six.  He had been a shinobi longer than these people had even been alive.  Did they doubt his abilities? 

 

In any case, all the jounin knew that Team 7 was a team with potential.  Any team trained by Sharingan-no-Kakashi was, and they were lying to themselves if they thought otherwise.

 

***

 

In the end, only 27 of the original 60 participants were able to pass the first exam.  Of course, the Rookie 9 and Team 10 were of the few who passed.  As were the team from Suna, Kabuto’s team, and a team from Kusa.

 

Anko made her spectacular, in her opinion, entrance and then led the remaining nine teams out towards the Forest of Death.  Ibiki simply smiled and mentally reminded himself to watch Team 7… they were going places.

 

The stage was set for the next part of the exam and all the players were ready, or as ready as they ever would be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to admit that some of this part of the test was inspired by The Yellow Dyad by YuunaFiction! You should totally read that, btw :D Minato and Naruto are the cutest <3 
> 
> Please don't get onto me about any inaccuracies (like the amount of participants, etc.). I am doing it from memory and also cause writer's privileges! It's my prerogative to add/remove certain details! :3 Fight me, bro! 
> 
> So, what do you think? It took me a while to write it all out, but it was fun! As you can tell, it took me a while for this as I was trying to figure out how to make it original... and I also get bored rehashing all the details, so I hope nothing was unclear or something. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!
> 
> Your comments give me life, so PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE comment! It also helps inspire me too <3 I don't want to drop the story, but I gotta have motivation, y'all! So please don't let me down *puppy eyes* 
> 
> In any case, HAPPY LATE CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL! And a Happy New Year, if I don't update before the new year! I hope you all have a great holiday with family and friends :) <3
> 
> If any of you are missing Sakura, I'll be sure to give an update on her next chapter ;) I mean, we're all wondering where our favorite pink-haired girl is, aren't we? :D :3


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